Here are tips to help you prepare your summer Canvas courses.
Summer Courses Already Created in Canvas
Summer courses, worth 1 or more credits, were created in Canvas in February. If you don’t see your course, check All Courses. If your course is still not listed, ask your department scheduler to add you as the course instructor in ARIESweb.
Student access to most published summer Canvas courses occurs on Friday, May 16, 2025, at 12:01 am, Mountain Time. The first day of classes for the 1st 4-week and 12-week courses is Monday, May 19, 2025. Remember to publish your course so students can access your Canvas course!
Teaching later in the summer? Wait until the Friday before your summer term begins to publish your course.
Recitations and Labs
Labs and recitations that are not for credit must be requested through ARIESweb. Under the Instructor Tools heading, select Request Canvas Special Courses link, then choose the Special Course Request Form.
These sections may be cross-listed into an academic lecture course.
Cross-List Courses in Canvas
Cross-listing allows Instructors to add section enrollments from individual sections into a single Canvas course. This allows for all course materials to be managed in one location. Please see our cross-listing webpage for more information on cross-listing. Note the special section for cross-listing 4xx sections with CSU Online 8xx sections.
Make sure to combine sections BEFORE adding content and before any student course activity occurs.
Canvas Template Applied to Canvas Courses
The Canvas course template, which is based on student feedback, is applied to all Canvas academic courses. The template emphasizes consistent navigation, home page, syllabus, modules for content delivery and learning objectives. Thanks for including this student feedback in your course design.
If you import content from a previous course, you will need to change which page is your Home Page.
Grading Scheme Automatically Turned On in Canvas Courses
All academic courses have a default grading scheme applied. You can select another grading scheme, make your own scheme, or turn off the grading scheme.
Prepare Your Canvas Course for Summer
Adjust All Assignment Due Dates
There are two ways to adjust assignment due dates.
- Use the Edit Assignment Due Dates feature in Canvas
- Use Cidi Labs Multi-Tool due date modifier.
- Note: The Cidi Labs Multi-Tool must be enabled in your course navigation to use it.
Add Asst. Teacher, TA, or Designer to Course
Add a user to your course using their CSU email, NetID, or 9-digit CSU number.
To keep Canvas and ARIES academic records accurate, please DO NOT add someone as a Teacher in your Canvas course. Please see our Canvas roles and permissions table to learn about the various roles in Canvas.
Videos in Canvas
Canvas is not optimized to deliver video content and has a data size cap, so video files must be uploaded to other resources. Please see our Videos webpage for video storage options.
The College of Business uses Kaltura for video storage.
iClicker Cloud Tips
- Make sure both students and instructors use the csu-net wireless network when using iClicker Cloud.
- Make sure instructors have the most up to date version of the iClicker software.
- Make sure students have the most up to date version of the iClicker app.
Resources/Support
- CSU Canvas Instructor Resources
- Canvas Video Guides
- Canvas Instructor Guide documentation
Please let us know if we can be of assistance.
CSU’s Canvas Support Team