This guide is a collection of support articles and information meant to help instructors get a start on accessing and setting up their Canvas @ Yale course sites each semester.
Table of Contents
This article will address the following information:
Academic course sites are created once school / department registrars have confirmed the course's offering ahead of the next semester's registration period.
The date of course creation is a fluid date from semester to semester, but generally occurs around the following times specifically for FAS-SEAS.
| Term | Creation Date |
|---|---|
| Fall | Near / Before Fall Break |
| Spring | Near / Before Spring Break |
| Summer | January / February |
Professional Schools may have their own timeline for when their course sites are created that falls outside of the dates described above. Many Professional Schools try to align with FAS-SEAS for course creation. If you have questions about when your school's Canvas course sites will be created, please reach out to your school's registrar.
- If you do not see your Canvas course site on your Dashboard, please reference our Finding My Canvas @ Yale Current / Past Courses support article.
- You can also check out our Setting Your Favorite Courses to Display in the Canvas Dashboard support article.
- To learn more about how umbrella sites work and requesting one for the upcoming semester, please check out our Canvas @ Yale Umbrella Sites support article.
Still unable to find your Canvas course site for the upcoming semester? Please reach out to your school / department registrar to confirm:
- Your course is offered in the following semester. Does the course and section appear on Yale Course Search?
- You are listed as the Instructor of Record on the course offering. Is your name listed in the "Instructor" line for the course and section on Yale Course Search?
Every academic, for-credit class at Yale gets a Canvas course site created each semester. Please reference our Finding My Canvas @ Yale Current / Past Courses support article for more guidance.
If you have previously used Canvas to teach your course, you can use the Canvas import tool in order to copy your previous course site to your new term’s course site. You will be able to reuse your syllabus, resources, assignments, discussion boards, etc. from your previous course.
- Please see our Copying Content from One Canvas Course Into Another Canvas Course support article.
- You can also just copy / import only some specific content to your new course site if you don't want everything.
You can share files with your class through the Files section of Canvas. Please reference our Uploading a File to a Course support article for more details.
For audio and video files, we recommend you use the Media Library. For more information on the use of the Media Library, please review the Media Library documents or contact [email protected].
The standard storage quota for a course site on Canvas @ Yale is 1.5 GB (1500 MB). However, if you need additional space, you can email [email protected] for an expansion of your course storage.
Additionally you can learn more from our File Storage Quotas in Canvas support article.
In order for your Syllabus button to appear on Yale Course Search for students to view during the course selection and add / drop period, you will need to upload and/or recreate your syllabus within the Syllabus Tool in your course site, as well as Publish your course.
For more information on preparing your syllabus in Canvas, please see our Posting Your Syllabus in Canvas article.
It can take up to 4 hours for the Syllabus button to appear on Yale Course Search.
When you first get your Canvas course site and while you are working / revising it, your course is unpublished. Once you are ready, you can make your course available for students to view.
For more information on publishing your course, please see our Publishing / Unpublishing Your Course article.
You cannot unpublish a course site once you have graded an assessment.
In order to set up your Course Reserves, please contact an e-Reserve Librarian. Their contact information can be found here: Course Reserves Home.
For more information, please see the Library's Using Canvas for Reserves guide.
- If you are having issues accessing the reserves through Canvas, please contact an e-Reserve Librarian first.
- If you do not see the Course Reserves link within your course navigation, please contact [email protected].
Your course materials should be as accessible to students who have recorded and unrecorded accommodation needs.
For resources on Accessibility in Canvas, please see our Accessibility articles.
If you have any questions regarding accessibility of your content, please contact: [email protected] or see the following help documents:
Canvas is not the system of record for your course enrollment. Your Canvas enrollments are controlled through the Student Information System (SIS), Banner.
For questions about your official course enrollments, please reach out to your school / department registrar.
Your Canvas course site will automatically populate with:
- Students who have registered for your class
- Visitors who are interested in possibly taking your class
- Instructors who are listed as the Instructor of Record by your school / department registrar
Your Canvas course site will NOT automatically populate with:
- Teaching Assistants / Teaching Fellows
- Law School and School of Management course sites will have their TA / TF enrollments done automatically
- Guest Instructors
- Guest Students / Auditors
- Canvas support staff such as Designers, Librarians, ULAs, Graders, etc.
Please reference our Adding / Removing Users from a Course for step-by-step instructions.
To learn more about how course registration works with Canvas, please check out our How the Registration Worksheet & Canvas Worksheet Impact a Canvas Course Site article.
During registration periods, please reference our Guidance on Canvas and FAS Preregistration Applications article to assist with how Canvas can be used effectively in preregistration applications.
During Registration and through the Add / Drop Period, Yale students are given the opportunity to "Visit" courses that they are interested in, but are not sure that they want to register for.
During this period, students can add the course to their Canvas Worksheet to get access to the Canvas course site with the role of "Visitor". They can also attend in-person / online course meetings while determining their final course schedule.
For more information, please check out our support articles:
For more help, please contact [email protected].