Canvas Checklist

No need to memorize every step of course management when you can lean on the Canvas Checklist. This guide walks through the faculty action items related to accessing, building, and concluding academic Canvas courses.

Each task can be expanded to reveal facts and further instructions.

Course Schedule Confirmation Tasks

You'll know it's time to complete these tasks when we announce Canvas course shells are ready for the upcoming term. We've heard it feels too early to think about when it happens, but faculty are encouraged to knock this short list out for a smooth start to building courses during the following six to eight weeks before classes begin.

Estimated Time | 15 Minutes

☐ Confirm your course access is correct or report errors.

Canvas course shells are created from the Banner course schedule three times a year: Fall in late June, spring in early Nov, summer in early March.
How do you confirm? Open Canvas through Cardinal Apps and locate your courses for the upcoming term.
Don't see your courses? Check the Banner course scheduleto see if you're the instructor of record (IOR) listed.
If changes to teaching assignments occur, edits must be made in Banner by your department administrator.
Email canvas@uiwtx.edu if you need help connecting with your department contact.
Banner changes feed to Canvas every few hours around the clock, edits are not instantaneous.

☐ Ensure your course dates reflect your plans or adjust.

Term dates are set by default and may not meet your needs.
How do you check and change dates? Inside your course, open Settings to check and change Participation dates.
You can manage section dates differently if you cross-list multiple sections and want to do so.
Do not leave dates blank for academic courses, or they forever display in students' current enrollments.
Students do not get access to your course until it has both been published and the start date arrives.

☐ Merge, also called cross-list, multiple sections to manage a single course.

Cross-list your sections together before you begin building content.
How do you cross-list? Choose the parent course you plan to use and follow the cross-listing instructions.
If you build content in a child course before you cross-list, you lose access to it.
Instructional Technology can de-cross-list your courses for you by request.
Different courses, rather than multiple sections of the same course, are cross-listed by the registrar through Banner.

☐ Request access to courses from past terms if needed.

The button to add people to a course is disabled after the end date passes.
How do you request? The Instructor of Record submits a written request on behalf of the person who needs to be added to canvas@uiwtx.edu.
If a person requests access for themself, Instructional Technology will acquire approval in writing from the IOR, department chair, or dean before processing.
Adding a person to Banner will not give access to past courses as the feed stops running a couple of weeks after the term ends.

☐ Initiate using the OneDrive app to share files later.

There's a behind the scenes process that can take while, start early to manage the wait.
How do you initiate? Use the OneDrive app in Canvas once per course.

☐ Consider your Microsoft Teams options.

Explore the MS Teams options with Canvas as each has its own benefits.
If needed, create a MS course group by enabling the integration and perform a sync in your course Settings within the Integrations tab.
Get started using MS Teams in less than 9 minutes with the Introduction to Microsoft Teams video.

Before Classes Begin Tasks

Students report feeling more confident when they access an informative Canvas course on or before the first day of class. Complete these tasks to leverage that positive emotional state and build momentum towards academic success.

Estimated Time | 45 Minutes

☐ Review any template items that came with your new course.

Template items easily allow the university to provide updated info to everyone.
There are new additions and edits made each term.
How do you review? Start with opening each index for Pages, Discussions, Assignments, and Modules.
Keep items you will use, delete those you will not.
Remember, removing items from a Module does not delete them.

☐ Copy previous content from another course.

Always copy before editing content to preserve the academic record of the past course.
Use caution if copying more than once to avoid unnecessary duplication of content.
Easily adjust events and due dates during the import.
How do you copy? From inside your new course, import all of a previous course or select items.
You get an import confirmation the process was successful or details of what failed.
Submit a request for content to be copied from another instructor's course to canvas@uiwtx.edu. Instructional Technology will acquire approval in writing from the IOR, department chair, or dean before processing.
If you're starting from scratch, connect with your instructional designer.

☐ Set Home after the import process is completed.

If you didn't previously delete it, the template home page displays after the copy process.
How to set Home? If the desired home page is not displaying, you need to set the correct Front Page.

☐ Follow digital accessibility standards as you create.

Canvas courses are websites requiring attention to digital accessibility.
Practice 10 essentials skills for improving your course accessibility score.
The Canvas RCE also offers an accessibility checker.
Schedule a digital accessibility consultation for assistance.

☐ Update your syllabus and course outline documents.

Accurate syllabus and outline documents set clear expectations.
Avoid naming the files with a date, instead opt for CLASS1234 Syllabus and CLASS1234 Outline.
How do you update? Go to Files and locate the items.
If the file name is exactly the same, select Replace on the prompt, which updates all links to the file anywhere in the course.
If the file name is different, upload the new files, delete the old ones, then navigate your course to fix any links manually.
Ensure your syllabus and outline documents are linked on the Syllabus feature.

☐ Edit and publish all your assignments.

Graded Discussions and Quizzes are also part of Assignments.
How do you edit? You can edit Assignment settings
How you set up Assignments creates your gradebook.
Confirm points possible and weighted groups calculate grades as stated in your syllabus.
Publishing Assignments early allows students to use the What-If Grades feature.
If you don't have all the details, let students know they are coming soon in the instructions box.

☐ Confirm events, to dos, and due dates are correct.

The Course Summary in your Syllabus feature lists all dated items in one place for an overview.
Save your sanity with the due date bulk editor for assignments!
All dates must fall between your start and end dates, managed in Settings.

☐ Update all Pages of content.

How do you update? Pages can be edited to ensure content is fresh.
Avoid dates in the text of your course, as that is a large workload to update each term.
Are your office hours and contact info accurate? Do you have a communication policy?
Delete duplicate pages or outdated ones you no longer need.

☐ Customize your Student Orientation Module.

Orientation builds a mutual understanding about course expectations.
Combine new template items with your existing ones in a way that works for your course.
If you have more than one orientation module, delete the duplicates.
Add practice assignments to build student confidence and reduce tech issues.

☐ Perform a quality assurance check.

Manage your course navigation links, removing tools you will not use - don't forget to Save your changes!
Use View as Student to see the course through your students' eyes and to create a Test Student in the gradebook.
Run the Validate Links in Content tool to check for broken links throughout the course.
Check your Accessibility Report to strive for a 100% score.

☐ Publish your course.

There are layers of publishing for maximum control of the student experience.
Students prefer courses with all items published over surprise content down the road.
Publish the entire course once it's ready to go - you can't unpublish after students start working.
Students can't take action in the course until after the participation start date, but they can look around.
Check the restrict students from viewing option in Settings if you do not want students to see your course early.

☐ Post a welcome announcement.

Notifications are not sent via email unless the course is published.
Posting a welcome announcement creates a sense of belonging and establishes your presence as the instructor.
If you set a delayed date and time for an announcement to post later, know the timestamp once posted will reflect the date you created the post.
Use the display until option cautiously, as disappearing announcements can create confusion.

End of Term Tasks

And here we find ourselves at another beautiful ending after contributing to the transformative experience UIW is known for. The emphasis for completing these tasks is all about finalizing grades, record keeping, and seeing your students off on the next leg of their journey.

Estimated Time | 30 Minutes

☐ Complete grading for every student and plan for incompletes.

Canvas does not count empty grade cells against students, you must enter a value for every cell.
You can see any student's individual grades view to assist in giving feedback.
Incompletes are often handled by leaving the course open longer or requesting the student be manually enrolled in a future course with the same work expectations.
Use the Notes column for a convenient documentation spot in your gradebook.

☐ Enable a grading scheme to show a letter grade with the final course grade.

You can select from the available options or create your own.
How do you enable? Open Settings to enable a grading scheme.
If you select a grading scheme name "UIW..." and teach for CHASS, DSE, HEBSBA, MSE, SMD, or SPS, your grades will transfer to Banner at the end of the term.
If you do not want to enter your grades manually, do not enable the UIW grading schemes.
Transfer of grades is not available for any other schools at this time.

☐ Prepare if opting in to transfer grades to Banner.

How do you prepare? Follow all grade requirements for transfer before the registrar's export date.
Check grades in Banner after the transfer and report errors to the registrar.
Manually enter final grades in Banner if you prefer.

☐ Export a copy of your gradebook for your records.

Saving your gradebook is optional.
Gradebooks can be exported, adjusted in Excel, and imported back into Canvas.

☐ Create a backup your course content.

Saving a backup of your course content is optional.
Course content can be exported and imported into a Canvas course.

☐ Post a farewell announcement.

You've spent weeks getting to know your students and guiding them through your subject, take a moment to wish them well.
Include guidance for requesting letters of recommendation, picking up large projects, or when you teach them later on in the curriculum.

☐ Verify the end date and viewing restriction settings.

Ensure your end date is acceptable.
The participation end date changes the status to past enrollments, stopping participation and creating a read-only environment.
Faculty can edit the end date proactively.
Decide if students can view your course after it ends, restrict their view you don't want them to maintain viewing access.

Need further Canvas training or assistance? Email canvas@uiwtx.edu, book time with Instructional Technology, or use the Canvas Global Navigation Help button.