Course Creation Process

Canvas Tutorials Course Creation Process

Instructor Getting Started Module

Important Information about How Courses are Created

Each semester course sections are created in Datatel Colleague and for each section a new blank Canvas course shell is created. The semester shells are named by course name, number and section and followed by semester year (Ex.CIS-054-294-2018FA). The official instructor(s) on record for the course and all students enrollments are automatically added to the semester shells. Instructors will gain access to upcoming semesters at the mid-term of the current semester. Upcoming semester courses will be listed on the global dashboard and in the Canvas course list under future enrollments Students will gain access to semester courses on the first day of the semester as long as the semester courses are published (See the Canvas Navigation and How to Publish Your Course tutorials for details). 

Frequently Asked Questions

Please review the frequently asked questions about the course creation process. Click an item to view or use the expand all option to see all items in the list.

How Do I Get Started with Canvas?

Please note if you are new Canvas, please  review the following guides. 

What Determines Student Access to Semester Courses?

Semester courses have a start and end date. The start date corresponds to the start date set in IRIS. Students will not be able to access semester courses until the start date passes and the courses are published. The semester end date is extended one week after grades are due. Once the semester term is concluded, students will no longer have access to previous semester courses.  For instructors, the concluded courses will display in read only format and will be listed under past courses on the all course list page in Canvas.  Please note there is difference between publishing your course and publishing content in the course. 

How Long do to Semester Courses Stay on My Canvas Account?

Canvas semester courses are kept for two full calendar years in Canvas. Once two full years have passed, the semester courses are removed from Canvas. This will remove old courses from your all course list in Canvas. Please review the schedule below for upcoming semester course removals. If you have content in older courses that you wish to keep, please create an export file and download the file to a local drive. 

Canvas Semester Course Removal Schedule
Semester Term Date of Removal from Canvas
Spring 2018 End of the Spring 2020 semester
Summer 2018 End of the Summer 2020 semester
Fall 2018 End of the Fall 2020 semester
Spring 2019 End of the Fall 2021 semester
Summer 2019 End of the Summer 2021 semester
Fall 2019 End of the Fall 2021 semester

How Can I Request a Template Course?

Instructors can request template course to be created in Canvas. Contact Information Systems & Services to make the request. Template courses will always start with TEM and end with the faculty member’s initials (ex. TEM-CIS-054-SN). When a template course is created an invite email is sent to your LLC email. Click the link to the email to accept the invitation to the template course or login to Canvas and accept the invite on the Dashboard. Students will never be added to template courses so be sure to copy the content from the template course into a semester course shell (ex. CIS-054-999-2013SP) before a semester begins.