Using Canvas


Official Learning Management System

In April 2018, SLCC Executive Cabinet approved Canvas as the official learning management system for SLCC. Canvas must be used for all face-to-face, hybrid, and online courses. The Discussion Team has determined that the minimum expectations for faculty using Canvas are to (1) post the course syllabus, (2) respond to Canvas messaging, and (3) use the grade book. Beginning Fall Semester 2018, faculty will be able to post grades from within Canvas, which will then import automatically into BANNER. This will eliminate the need for faculty to re-post final grades from Canvas to BANNER. Training for Canvas use will be provided via Faculty Development.

This requirement is consistent with the college’s practice of designating officially approved technology platforms for official, college-wide internal communication to faculty, staff, students, and administration.  For example, Outlook and Bruinmail are the official email systems for SLCC internal communication. Banner is another fundamental technology at the institution. 

- R. Adam Dastrup, President, Faculty Senate

- Clifton Sanders, Provost for Academic Affairs



Image Placeholder Accessing Canvas

  • How do I log into Canvas?



  Course Availability


Before the Term

New course sites are created for every course long before the semester starts, but an instructor will not have access to their site until they are listed in Banner as the instructor for that course (this timeline can vary by department). Additionally, when course shells for the upcoming semester are finalized by SLCC Canvas Administrators, the soonest you are typically able to access your assigned course is four work weeks before the semester begins. At that point, you can begin adding content to your Canvas course. Lastly, when students register for the course, they will be auto-enrolled or added as students into the Canvas shell.

During the Term

Just because you see the Canvas course does not mean your students see it. By default, a course site is unpublished (unavailable) until the start of the term and it is up to the instructor to publish it (i.e., make it available). Once a  course is accessible to the instructor, however, the instructor can change a setting in the course to allow students to access it earlier if needed. We will talk more about how to publish a course in a later module. For more information, see: How do I publish a course? (Links to an external site.)

After the Term

After the school term has ended, Canvas course sites are not archived but are available indefinitely. This serves as a stored record of course evidence. By default, each Canvas course has term start and end dates within the course settings. Outside that date range, most functions are limited to “view only.” Some components are not easily accessible after the term end date (grades, group pages, etc.) To help manage and keep course sites from continuing to build up within your course list, especially classes which are taught semester after semester, Canvas removes teachers periodically from courses that are a year old.


 Syllabus

  • Syllabus as a Canvas Page: You simply need to create a page, title it “Syllabus,” and insert your syllabus content. You can either manually type your syllabus content or copy and paste it from an existing document, such as a Word doc. For more information, see How do I make a custom Homepage in my Canvas Course?
  • Syllabus as a File: The other way to add your syllabus is to simply include it as a file for your students to download or view on the page. If you do this, it is best to include it as a PDF instead of a Word doc. PDFs have a cleaner look when opened and students are not able to edit them. Depending on how you introduce your syllabus to your students, it will look something like this:
    • “Before you get started in this course, please take the time to read the syllabus and familiarize yourself with various course policies and expectations. Please let me know if you have any questions.” Syllabus_Sample.pdf (Actions)
  • Syllabus Tool in Canvas: The syllabus tool, referred to simply as the "Syllabus" within Canvas, makes it easy to communicate to your students exactly what will be required of them throughout the course in chronological order. For more information, see How do I use the Syllabus as an instructor?
    1. How do I post a Syllabus in Canvas?




 Canvas Inbox





Additional Recommendations


Course Content

    1. Pages - How do I create a new page in a course?
    2. Files - How do I upload a file to a course? 
    3. Modules - How do I add a module?, How do I add course content as module items? 
    4. Adding Links - How do I create hyperlinks to external URLs in the Rich Content Editor as an instructor?, How do I add an external URL as a module item?

 Home Page



 Course Settings




 Notifications






 Additional Helpful Links


  • ELearning Canvas Request Forms (This link opens to the ‘Add Users’ form. But at the bottom of the form, you will also find links to: Remove Users, Cross-listing, Copy/Import Content, DEV Site Request, Re-open a Course for an Incomplete, and Request to Install an LTI in Canvas.) 
  • How do I configure Zoom to work in Canvas? (This includes steps for adding Zoom to your Canvas menu and troubleshooting any login issues you may encounter.) 

End of semester:

    1. How do I complete my grading in Canvas at the end of the Semester?
    2. How do I Submit Final Grades in Canvas? (This link contains info on how to prepare your grades before submitting, as well as how to use Canvas’s ‘Submit Final Grades’ tool.) 
    3. How do I submit final grades in MySLCC? (formerly MyPage)