Faculty Guide to Managing Canvas Course Access

As faculty, you control when your Canvas courses are available to students. This guide outlines how to publish your course for immediate access, limit access outside the academic term, and manage participation settings to ensure effective course delivery.

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Publishing Your Course

By default, Canvas courses are available to students at the start of the academic term. However, you can publish your course earlier to give students immediate access.

Steps to publish: 

1. Navigate to your course on the Dashboard or open the course home page.
2. Click the "Publish" button. Your course will now be visible to students.

Tip: Published courses are indicated by a green checkmark on the Dashboard.

 

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Restricting Access Outside the Academic Term

If you prefer to limit access to your Canvas course before or after the academic term, you can adjust course settings to enforce specific availability dates.

Steps to Restrict Access:

1. Open your course and click on Settings in the course navigation menu.
2. Under the Course Details tab, scroll to the Participation section.
   • Locate the two checkboxes to:
     • Restrict student access before the course start date.
     • Restrict student access after the course end date.
   • Ensure both boxes are checked to enforce these restrictions.
3. Scroll to the bottom and click Update Course Details to save changes.

 

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Participation in Canvas Courses:

Once the academic term ends, your Canvas course enters a "read-only" mode for students and teachers. This means:

• Students can view content but cannot interact with it (e.g., submit assignments or post to discussions).
• Teachers can no longer make updates without reactivating the course.

Re-activating a Course:

If you need to extend access or allow student engagement after the term:

1. Please submit a ticket through our ServiceNow platform for assistance managing course access or re-opening a course.
2. Adjust the participation dates:
   • Go to Settings → Course Details tab.
   • Change Participation from "Term" to "Course."
   • Set your desired Start Date and End Date.
   • Click Update Course Details to save.

Important Note: Adjusting course dates grants access to all students. For individual accommodations, consider other options like extensions on specific assignments.

 

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Please submit a ticket through our ServiceNow platform for assistance with managing Canvas course access or other instructional technology questions. Our team is here to support you!