This article describes the differences between term dates and course dates. It also provides details and instructions on concluding and resetting courses
Table of Contents
This article will address the following information:
Canvas @ Yale Term Dates
Term dates for a course can be overridden by Course Dates. Check out the Course Dates section below for more information.
Term dates are set globally in Canvas@Yale, which help to manage user's "Dashboard" and the "All Courses" list. Based on a course's term, the course will display under the "Current Enrollments" heading or "Past Enrollments" heading.
Courses that are concluded by Term dates are still visible to all instructors and participants, but cannot be modified after the Term end date (Admins can intervene to undo this).
Term Dates for the Current 2026-2027 Year
| Term | Start Date | Start Date - Student Access (if published) | End Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall 2026 | July 1, 2026 | August 1, 2027 | August 31, 2027 |
| Spring 2027 | November 1, 2026 | November 1, 2026 | August 31, 2027 |
| Summer 2027 | November 1, 2026 | November 1, 2026 | August 31, 2027 |
| Summer session A 2027 | November 1, 2026 | November 1, 2026 | August 31, 2027 |
| Summer session B 2027 | November 1, 2026 | November 1, 2026 | August 31, 2027 |
| Fiscal Year 2027 | July 1, 2026 | July 1, 2026 | June 30, 2027 |
Course Dates
To prevent students from being able to participate after the course end date, instructors will need to also select the option "Users can only participate in the course between these dates." Courses that are concluded by the course dates are still visible to all instructors and participants.
Course dates do not override term dates unless you also select the check box for "Users can only participate in the course between these dates."
Course dates override the default Term dates for a course, which allows instructors to give students access to participate in the course before or after the set term date. Course dates are set at the individual course level through the course's "Settings" area by changing the "Participation" setting from "Term" to "Course."
Manually Concluded Courses
A manually concluded course can be undone by an administrator.
Courses can be concluded manually by clicking the "Conclude" button in a course's "Settings" area. Manually concluded courses are still visible to all participants, but cannot be modified.
Student enrollments are shifted to "Prior Enrollments" and will not appear within the People tool unless you opt to view prior enrollments.
Reset Courses
A reset course can be undone by an administrator.
Resetting a course deletes the course site and creates a brand new empty course shell for the course, which only contains the user enrollments from the original site.
Course Access by Role Upon Term / Course / Manual Conclusion / Course Reset
Based on the role a user has in a course, their level of access and permissions will be different given how the course is concluded (e.g. through term dates, course dates, manual conclusion, or course reset). Review the chart below for more details about what permissions each role in a course has based on these conclusion scenarios.
| Role | Permission | Term Date Conclude | Course Date Conclude | Manual Conclude | DELETED Reset Course | NEW Reset Course |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Instructor | ||||||
| Can view course | YES | YES | YES | NO | YES | |
| Can add/edit content | NO | YES | NO | NO | YES | |
| Course appears in Dashboard | NO | YES | NO | NO | YES | |
| Course appears in Past Enrollments | YES | YES | YES | NO | NO | |
| Student | ||||||
| Can view course | YES | YES2 | YES | NO | YES | |
| Can add/edit content | NO | YES3 | NO | NO | YES | |
| Course appears in Dashboard | NO | NO | NO | NO | YES | |
| Course appears in Past Enrollments | YES | YES | YES | NO | NO | |
| General | ||||||
| Enrollments moved to "Prior Enrollments" | NO | NO | YES | NO | NO | |
| Can import content into next term courses (or new site) | YES | YES | YES | NO | YES | |
| Can be overridden/undone | YES1 | YES4 | YES5 | YES6 | YES7 | |
| Who can override/undo | Admin | Instructor/Admin | Admin | Admin | Admin | |
| Offical Course - Banner Feed Fix? | NO | NO | YES? | YES? | YES? |
- Admin will need to temporarily move course into an active term, change course end date, return course to correct term.
- Students can see the course as long as the instructor has not selected the option to "Restrict students from viewing course after end date."
- Students can participate in the course as long as the instructor has not selected the option "Users can only participate in the course between these dates."
- Instructor or Admin can change the Course End date and/or the options from 2 & 3 above.
- Admin will need to "Un-Conclude" course and then add back all of the users (instructors, TAs, & students). Adding back the users will add back their assignment submissions.
- Resetting a course deletes the original copy of the course and creates a brand new empty course site which keeps all enrollments. The old site can be restored by an admin using the Canvas Course ID and by re-enrolling all users.
- If original copy of course is restored, new copy should be deleted by an Admin.
?. Banner may over-write these changes during the next feed if the course is in a current, active term.
For more help, please contact [email protected].