Support Lead TA course role

Author: Alex

app/controllers/courses_controller.rb

@@ -5,7 +5,7 @@ class CoursesController < ApplicationController
   before_action :determine_user_role
 
   def index
-    teacher_courses = UserToCourse.includes(:course).where(user: @user, role: %w[teacher ta])
+    teacher_courses = UserToCourse.includes(:course).where(user: @user, role: UserToCourse.staff_roles)
     @teacher_courses_by_semester = group_by_semester(teacher_courses)
 
     # Only show courses to students if extensions are enabled at the course level
@@ -44,16 +44,14 @@ def new
     @courses = Course.fetch_courses(token)
     flash[:alert] = 'No courses found.' if @courses.empty?
 
-    # Collect unique semester names from Canvas term data for the filter dropdown
     @semesters = @courses.filter_map { |c| c.dig('term', 'name') }.uniq.sort
     @selected_semester = params[:semester]
 
-    teacher_enrollment_types = %w[teacher ta]
     # TODO: Add spec for when a course is created, but the user is not enrolled in it.
     # TODO: Why do some courses have empty enrollments?
     existing_canvas_ids = @user.courses.pluck(:canvas_id)
-    @courses_teacher = filter_courses(@courses, teacher_enrollment_types, existing_canvas_ids)
-    @courses_student = filter_courses(@courses, [ 'student' ], existing_canvas_ids)
+    @courses_teacher = filter_courses(@courses, UserToCourse.staff_roles, existing_canvas_ids)
+    @courses_student = filter_courses(@courses, [ UserToCourse::STUDENT_ROLE ], existing_canvas_ids)
 
     if @selected_semester.present?
       @courses_teacher = filter_by_semester(@courses_teacher, @selected_semester)
@@ -68,7 +66,7 @@ def edit
 
   def create
     token = @user.lms_credentials.first.token
-    filter_courses(Course.fetch_courses(token), %w[teacher ta])
+    filter_courses(Course.fetch_courses(token), UserToCourse.staff_roles)
       .select { |c| params[:courses]&.include?(c['id'].to_s) }
       .each { |course_api| Course.create_or_update_from_canvas(course_api, token, @user) }
     redirect_to courses_path, notice: 'Selected courses and their assignments have been imported successfully.'
@@ -146,7 +144,9 @@ def filter_courses(courses, roles, exclude_ids = [])
     courses = courses - missing_enrollments - courses.select { |course| exclude_ids.include?(course['id'].to_s) }
     return [] if courses.empty?
 
-    courses.select { |course| course['enrollments'].any? { |e| roles.include?(e['type']) } }
+    courses.select do |course|
+      course['enrollments'].any? { |enrollment| roles.include?(UserToCourse.role_from_canvas_enrollment(enrollment)) }
+    end
   end
 
   def course_data_for_sync

app/facades/canvas_facade.rb

@@ -1,4 +1,5 @@
 require 'date'
+require 'cgi'
 require 'faraday'
 require 'json'
 require 'ostruct'
@@ -8,6 +9,9 @@ class CanvasFacade < LmsFacade
   class CanvasAPIError < LmsFacade::LmsAPIError; end
 
   CANVAS_URL = ENV.fetch('CANVAS_URL', nil)
+  CANVAS_CUSTOM_COURSE_ROLES = {
+    UserToCourse::LEAD_TA_ROLE => 'Lead TA'
+  }.freeze
 
   # Canvas instances can scope the flextensions developer key.
   # There must be one scope for each endpoint we can use.
@@ -161,10 +165,10 @@ def get_all_course_users(course, role = nil)
     # sigh, manually construct query string until we tweak Faraday middleware
     # to include :url_encoded, then use `'enrollment_type[]' : list_or_string`
     query_string = 'per_page=100'
-    query_string += "&enrollment_type[]=#{role}" if role.is_a?(String) && role.present?
+    query_string += "&#{role_query_param(role)}" if role.is_a?(String) && role.present?
 
     if role.is_a?(Array) && role.present? # rubocop:disable Style/IfUnlessModifier
-      query_string += role.map { |r| "&enrollment_type[]=#{r}" }.join
+      query_string += role.map { |r| "&#{role_query_param(r)}" }.join
     end
 
     depaginate_response(@canvas_conn.get("courses/#{course.canvas_id}/users?#{query_string}"))
@@ -189,6 +193,17 @@ def get_instructor_courses
     teacher_courses + ta_courses
   end
 
+  def role_query_param(role)
+    normalized_role = UserToCourse.normalize_role(role)
+    canvas_course_role = CANVAS_CUSTOM_COURSE_ROLES[normalized_role]
+
+    if canvas_course_role
+      "enrollment_role=#{CGI.escape(canvas_course_role)}"
+    else
+      "enrollment_type[]=#{CGI.escape(normalized_role)}"
+    end
+  end
+
   ##
   # Gets a specified course that the authorized user has access to.
   #

app/javascript/controllers/enrollments_controller.js

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ export default class extends Controller {
 		if (!DataTable.isDataTable('#enrollments-table')) {
 			// Define a custom sorting function for the Role column
 			DataTable.ext.type.order['role-pre'] = function (data) {
-				const rolePriority = { teacher: 4, ta: 2, student: 3 };
+				const rolePriority = { teacher: 4, leadta: 3, "lead ta": 3, ta: 2, student: 1 };
 				if (typeof data !== 'string') {
 					data = String(data).trim();
 				}

app/models/course.rb

@@ -87,8 +87,8 @@ def enabled_assignments
   # Or is user.staff_role?(course) or user.student_role?(course) better?
   def user_role(user)
     roles = UserToCourse.where(user_id: user.id, course_id: id).pluck(:role)
-    return 'instructor' if roles.include?('teacher') || roles.include?('ta')
-    return 'student' if roles.include?('student')
+    return 'instructor' if roles.intersect?(UserToCourse.staff_roles)
+    return 'student' if roles.include?(UserToCourse::STUDENT_ROLE)
 
     nil
   end
@@ -118,11 +118,11 @@ def assignments
   end
 
   def students
-    user_to_courses.where(role: 'student').map(&:user)
+    user_to_courses.where(role: UserToCourse::STUDENT_ROLE).map(&:user)
   end
 
   def instructors
-    user_to_courses.where(role: 'teacher').map(&:user)
+    user_to_courses.where(role: UserToCourse::TEACHER_ROLE).map(&:user)
   end
 
   def staff_users
@@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ def sync_users_from_canvas(user, roles = [ 'student' ])
   end
 
   def sync_all_enrollments_from_canvas(user)
-    sync_users_from_canvas(user, [ 'teacher', 'ta', 'student' ])
+    sync_users_from_canvas(user, UserToCourse.roles)
   end
 
   def regenerate_readonly_api_token_if_blank

app/models/user_to_course.rb

@@ -23,6 +23,16 @@
 #
 # TODO: In the future we should name this CourseEnrollment
 class UserToCourse < ApplicationRecord
+  STUDENT_ROLE = 'student'.freeze
+  TEACHER_ROLE = 'teacher'.freeze
+  TA_ROLE = 'ta'.freeze
+  LEAD_TA_ROLE = 'leadta'.freeze
+  STAFF_ROLES = [ TEACHER_ROLE, TA_ROLE, LEAD_TA_ROLE ].freeze
+  COURSE_ADMIN_ROLES = [ TEACHER_ROLE, LEAD_TA_ROLE ].freeze
+  ROLE_LABELS = {
+    LEAD_TA_ROLE => 'Lead TA'
+  }.freeze
+
   # Associations
   belongs_to :user
   belongs_to :course
@@ -39,18 +49,48 @@ def staff?
   end
 
   def course_admin?
-    role == 'teacher' || role == 'leadta'
+    UserToCourse.course_admin_roles.include?(role)
   end
 
   def student?
-    role == 'student'
+    role == STUDENT_ROLE
+  end
+
+  def display_role
+    UserToCourse.display_role(role)
   end
 
   def self.roles
-    [ 'student' ] + UserToCourse.staff_roles
+    [ STUDENT_ROLE ] + UserToCourse.staff_roles
   end
 
   def self.staff_roles
-    %w[teacher ta leadta]
+    STAFF_ROLES
+  end
+
+  def self.course_admin_roles
+    COURSE_ADMIN_ROLES
+  end
+
+  def self.normalize_role(role)
+    role.to_s.downcase.gsub(/[^a-z]/, '')
+  end
+
+  def self.role_from_canvas_enrollment(enrollment)
+    return nil unless enrollment
+
+    normalized_role = normalize_role(enrollment['role'] || enrollment[:role])
+    return LEAD_TA_ROLE if normalized_role == LEAD_TA_ROLE
+
+    normalized_type = normalize_role(enrollment['type'] || enrollment[:type])
+    roles.include?(normalized_type) ? normalized_type : nil
+  end
+
+  def self.staff_enrollment?(enrollment)
+    staff_roles.include?(role_from_canvas_enrollment(enrollment))
+  end
+
+  def self.display_role(role)
+    ROLE_LABELS.fetch(role.to_s, role.to_s.capitalize)
   end
 end

app/views/courses/enrollments.html.erb

@@ -51,7 +51,7 @@
               </td>
               <td class="text-center"><%= enrollment.user.student_id %></td>
               <td class="text-center"><%= enrollment.user.email %></td>
-              <td class="text-center"><%= enrollment.role.downcase.capitalize %></td>
+              <td class="text-center"><%= enrollment.display_role %></td>
               <% if @is_course_admin %>
                 <td class="justify-content-center align-content-center"
                     data-order="<%= enrollment.allow_extended_requests ? 1 : 0 %>">
@@ -89,4 +89,4 @@
       <% end %>
     </div>
   </div>
-</div>
+</div>

app/views/courses/index.html.erb

@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
                             <tr>
                                 <td><a href="/courses/<%= user_to_course.course.id %>"> <%= user_to_course.course.course_name %> </a></td>
                                 <td><%= user_to_course.course.course_code %></td>
-                                <td><%= user_to_course.role.capitalize %></td>
+                                <td><%= user_to_course.display_role %></td>
                             </tr>
                         <% end %>
                     <% end %>

app/views/courses/new.html.erb

@@ -46,7 +46,10 @@
                 <td><%= course.dig("term", "name") %></td>
                 <td><%= course["course_code"] %></td>
                 <td><%= course["name"] %></td>
-                <td><%= course['enrollments'].find { |enrollment| %w[teacher ta].include?(enrollment['type']) }['type'].capitalize %></td>
+                <td>
+                  <% staff_enrollment = course['enrollments'].find { |enrollment| UserToCourse.staff_enrollment?(enrollment) } %>
+                  <%= UserToCourse.display_role(UserToCourse.role_from_canvas_enrollment(staff_enrollment)) %>
+                </td>
               </tr>
             <% end %>
           </tbody>

spec/controllers/courses_controller_spec.rb

@@ -29,6 +29,14 @@
       expect(response).to render_template(:index)
     end
 
+    it 'includes Lead TA enrollments in staff courses' do
+      UserToCourse.create!(user: user, course: student_course, role: 'leadta')
+
+      get :index
+
+      expect(assigns(:teacher_courses).map(&:role)).to include('leadta')
+    end
+
     context 'semester grouping' do
       let(:spring_course) { Course.create!(course_name: 'Spring Course', canvas_id: 'sp1', course_code: 'SP101', semester: 'Spring 2026') }
       let(:fall_course) { Course.create!(course_name: 'Fall Course', canvas_id: 'fa1', course_code: 'FA101', semester: 'Fall 2025') }
@@ -112,6 +120,21 @@
       expect(response).to redirect_to(courses_path)
       expect(flash[:notice]).to eq('Selected courses and their assignments have been imported successfully.')
     end
+
+    it 'imports courses where the user is enrolled with the Canvas Lead TA role' do
+      lead_ta_course = {
+        'id' => '999',
+        'name' => 'Lead TA Canvas Course',
+        'course_code' => 'LTA101',
+        'enrollments' => [ { 'type' => 'ta', 'role' => 'Lead TA' } ]
+      }
+      allow(Course).to receive(:fetch_courses).and_return([ lead_ta_course ])
+      allow(Course).to receive(:create_or_update_from_canvas)
+
+      post :create, params: { courses: [ '999' ] }
+
+      expect(Course).to have_received(:create_or_update_from_canvas).with(lead_ta_course, 'fake_token', user)
+    end
   end
 
   describe 'POST #sync_assignments' do
@@ -139,6 +162,14 @@
             headers: { 'Authorization' => 'Bearer fake_token' }
           ).to_return(status: 200, body: '[]', headers: {})
       end
+      stub_request(:get, "#{ENV.fetch('CANVAS_URL', nil)}/api/v1/courses/456/users")
+        .with(
+          query: {
+            'enrollment_role' => 'Lead TA',
+            'per_page' => '100'
+          },
+          headers: { 'Authorization' => 'Bearer fake_token' }
+        ).to_return(status: 200, body: '[]', headers: {})
     end
 
     context 'when user is a teacher (course admin)' do
@@ -215,7 +246,7 @@
           'id' => '103',
           'name' => 'Test Course 103',
           'course_code' => 'TC103',
-          'enrollments' => [ { 'type' => 'teacher' } ],
+          'enrollments' => [ { 'type' => 'ta', 'role' => 'Lead TA' } ],
           'term' => { 'name' => 'Fall 2025' }
         },
         {
@@ -246,8 +277,9 @@
       expect(assigns(:courses_student)).not_to be_empty
 
       # Teacher course should be categorized correctly
-      teacher_course = assigns(:courses_teacher).first
-      expect(teacher_course['enrollments'].first['type']).to eq('teacher')
+      teacher_course_roles = assigns(:courses_teacher).map { |canvas_course| canvas_course['enrollments'].first }
+      expect(teacher_course_roles).to include(hash_including('type' => 'teacher'))
+      expect(teacher_course_roles).to include(hash_including('role' => 'Lead TA'))
 
       # Student course should be categorized correctly
       student_course = assigns(:courses_student).first

spec/facades/canvas_facade_spec.rb

@@ -169,6 +169,24 @@
     end
   end
 
+  describe '#get_all_course_users' do
+    let(:course) { instance_double(Course, canvas_id: course_id) }
+
+    it 'uses enrollment_type for built-in Canvas roles' do
+      stubs.get("courses/#{course_id}/users?per_page=100&enrollment_type[]=ta") { [ 200, {}, '[]' ] }
+
+      expect(facade.get_all_course_users(course, 'ta')).to eq([])
+      stubs.verify_stubbed_calls
+    end
+
+    it 'uses enrollment_role for the custom Lead TA Canvas role' do
+      stubs.get("courses/#{course_id}/users?per_page=100&enrollment_role=Lead+TA") { [ 200, {}, '[]' ] }
+
+      expect(facade.get_all_course_users(course, 'leadta')).to eq([])
+      stubs.verify_stubbed_calls
+    end
+  end
+
   describe 'get_course' do
     before do
       stubs.get("courses/#{course_id}") { [ 200, {}, '{}' ] }