Canvas: Crosslisting Courses


New for Spring 2025: Faculty-Managed Cross-Listing in Canvas!

Starting in Spring 2025, faculty can now cross-list their courses in Canvas. Faculty are expected to follow the guidelines provided below by the Office of the Registrar and the Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning to ensure FERPA compliance in all cross-listed courses.

Protecting Student Privacy in Cross-Listed Canvas Courses

At Auburn University, cross-listing enables instructors to combine multiple course sections into a single Canvas course for streamlined management. However, it is essential to protect student privacy and comply with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) while doing so. Faculty must ensure their cross-listed courses adhere to these privacy standards and remain FERPA-compliant.

Only specific types of courses qualify for unrestricted student interactions between sections when cross-listed. If your course qualifies, follow the steps below to complete the cross-listing process. For courses that do not meet these criteria, faculty are expected to implement additional settings to prevent cross-section interactions and safeguard student privacy.

Approved Cross-Listing Criteria

Courses must meet at least one of the following criteria to enable unrestricted cross-section interactions:

Courses outside these criteria may be cross-listed for administrative purposes but require additional steps to limit cross-section interactions.

Settings for Privacy Protection

The Office of the Registrar and the Biggio Center for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning have established default settings to help maintain privacy in cross-listed courses. Faculty remain responsible for implementing any additional student privacy settings required to ensure compliance. All settings are monitored throughout the semester, and automated adjustments will be applied to courses found to be non-compliant.

The following tools are disabled in course navigation and managed by Biggio Tech to limit cross-section interaction:

These settings are actively monitored, and changes may occur if compliance issues arise. Instructors should contact Biggio Tech if adjustments are needed for approved courses.

The following resources offer detailed guidance to assist faculty in managing cross-listed courses while ensuring compliance with student privacy standards. Select an option below for specific instructions on cross-listing, protecting student privacy, or managing courses that do not meet cross-listing criteria.
How to Cross-List in Canvas Required Student Privacy Settings Non-Qualifying Course Assistance

For further assistance with cross-listing or if you encounter issues with privacy settings, please email bighelp@auburn.edu or book time with Biggio Tech. 

Auburn University's Electronic Privacy and Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Policies can be found by visiting Electronic Privacy Policy or Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Policy

 

How to Cross-List in Canvas

Important Notice About Student Work and Cross-Listing

Student work is tied to the original course shell and does not transfer to the Parent course when cross-listing.

Recommendation:

  • Cross-list Early: Complete cross-listing before students submit assignments, ideally at the start of the semester.
  • Late Cross-Listing: If cross-listing is necessary later in the semester, export the gradebook from the Child course before combining to retain all relevant student data.

To Undo Cross-Listing: 

To reverse cross-listing, please submit a ServiceNow ticket to Biggio Tech.

Steps to Cross-List Courses in Canvas

  1. Select the Parent Course:
    • Click Courses in the Canvas menu to view your course list.
    • Select the course you want to be the Cross-List Parent (the main course where all enrollments will appear).
  2. Locate the Parent Course Number: 
    • In the URL at the top of your browser, find the number after /courses/. This is the Course ID for the Parent course. Copy or write this down, as you’ll need it to complete cross-listing.canvas course numbers in url highlighted
  3.  Identify a Child Course: 
    • Return to Courses and select a course that will be a Child (the section that will be cross-listed into the Parent course).
  4. Open Course Settings: 
    • Inside the Child course, select Settings from the Navigation menu, then click on Sections. Settings highlighted with arrow to sections
  5.  Select the Section Name: 
    • Under Sections, click the name of the course section (do not click “Add new section”).canvas course sections highlighted with arrow
  6.  Cross-List the Section:
    • Click the Cross-List this Section link on the right. Cross list this section highlighted
  7. Enter the Parent Course ID: 
    • Enter the Parent Course ID from Step 2 in the box provided. Press Enter.                   parent course numbers entered and highlighted on cross-list pop up
  8. Complete the Cross-Listing:
    • Click the Cross-List This Section> button to finalize.                                            cross-list this section highlighted with arrow
  9. Verify Cross-Listing:
    • Only the Parent course will be displayed after cross-listing. Repeat the steps above for any additional sections you want to cross-list into the Parent course.

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Mandatory Privacy Measures for Non-Qualifying Cross-Listed Courses

To ensure students cannot view or interact with individuals outside their own section in cross-listed courses that do not meet the qualifying criteria, faculty are expected to adjust the following Canvas settings. As regular audits are conducted, failure to implement these protections may result in the removal of the ability to cross-list courses entirely.

  1. Course Settings
    • Go to Settings > Course Details > More Options and make the following adjustments:
      • Disable comments on announcements to prevent cross-section interaction.
      • Uncheck "Let students create discussion topics" to limit student-initiated discussions.
      • Uncheck "Let students organize their own groups" to prevent cross-section group formations.
  2. Course Navigation Restrictions
    • Ensure the following tools are disabled by default in Settings > Navigation to limit cross-section interactions:
      • Chat
      • BigBlueButton (Conferences)
      • Collaborations
      • People
  3. TA Access Permissions
    • When assigning TAs, select Can interact with users in their section only and add them solely to the sections they oversee.
  4. Groups Management
    • Student-Created Groups: Student names are visible across sections if students can create their own groups, so this should be disabled.
    • Group Assignments: Ensure group members are restricted to the same section when creating groups.
  5. Discussions
    • Student names are visible in discussion posts and threads by default. To ensure compliance, follow these guidelines: 
      • Graded Discussions: Create separate, section-specific discussion topics.
      • Ungraded Discussions: Use the Post to option to limit topics to individual sections.
      • Group Discussions: Create section-specific groups for discussions.
      • Discussions Redesign: Enable this feature under Settings > Feature Options to provide student anonymity options.
  6. Messages/Inbox
    • When messaging multiple students in different sections, select Send an individual message to each recipient to keep recipient names private.

These steps will help protect student privacy and maintain compliance in non-qualifying cross-listed Canvas courses.

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Support for Non-Qualifying Cross-Listed Courses

If your course does not meet the approved criteria for unrestricted cross-section interaction, adjustments are required to maintain FERPA compliance. Below are options and explanations to assist you in navigating these requirements or addressing specific concerns.

What if I Want Interaction Between Sections in an Unapproved Course?

The Office of the Registrar and the Biggio Center can provide assistance in setting up a workflow to allow cross-section interaction on a case-by-case basis. To ensure compliance, students will need to sign a FERPA waiver before interactions are permitted across sections. For more information, please contact the Registrar’s Office at (334) 844-2544 or visit Registrar Contact.

Why Is My Navigation Changing on Its Own After Cross-Listing?

An automated monitoring system, known as the "watchdog," ensures FERPA-compliant navigation settings for non-approved cross-listed courses. If your course is not on the approved list, the watchdog may automatically adjust course settings and navigation to maintain compliance.

For assistance or to verify if your course qualifies, please submit a ServiceNow ticket to Biggio Tech.

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