The Fall 2024 Semester begins next week and campus is back in full swing! Below is a quick checklist to help you get your fall courses Canvas-ready for the first week of classes.
Canvas Help Options
Need some assistance? Find out how to get help with Canvas!
Meet with Us
In case you missed our Canvas training sessions this week, you can still get help from us! We offer personal one-on-one consultations via Zoom and you can sign up for whatever time slot works for you!
Need quick one-on-one support in person? Drop by our Canvas help sessions tomorrow and on Tuesday to get quick assistance! We’ll be at the ITS Service Desk in the Student Union (room 1506, near Bojangles) at the following times:
- Friday, August 16 from 10am – 2pm
- Tuesday, August 20 from 10am – 3:30pm
Are you a TA? We have a training session just for you! Join our Canvas for Teaching Assistants workshop next Friday, August 23, from 3:30pm – 4:30pm in 304 Wilson Library (ground floor, side entrance next to the UL).
Get Canvas Support
Here are other ways to get help with Canvas:
- Help menu within Canvas
: Click Help in the blue global menu when you’re logged into Canvas to access 24/7/365 chat and phone support! Here you can also access the help guides and video tutorials. - Help.unc.edu: For UNC-specific questions, submit a UNC help request. Use this option if you have questions about student enrollment, renaming Canvas sites, external tool integrations, etc.
- UNC Canvas FAQs: Find answers to common Canvas questions.
- Canvas Instructor Guides: View help documentation and overview videos to learn about the different Canvas tools.
- Moving from Sakai to Canvas: View recorded trainings by our ITS-EdTech team to help you move from Sakai to Canvas. They are helpful for instructors who are new to UNC and have never used Canvas as well. You will also find crosswalks between the two systems and resources to help you get started in Canvas.
- Download a Template in Commons : Unsure of where to begin? Check out our UNC-CH Course Templates in the Commons tool within Canvas. You can download the template and import it into your course. The Simplified version is a great place to start with helping you organize your course materials.
Canvas Course Checklist
Follow this checklist to get your Canvas course ready for the first week of classes!
1. Confirm Rosters and TAs
All section rosters, student enrollments, and TA assignments should be handled through the University Registrar in ConnectCarolina. If you do not see your course on your dashboard or your Courses > All Courses page or your sections are not automatically cross-listed in your course site, please contact your departmental course scheduler. TAs should also be added to the official course roster in ConnectCarolina. One great thing about Canvas is that enrollment updates typically happen every few minutes, though sometimes it can take about an hour.
If needed, you can make manual adjustments in your Canvas site. Note that if you manually add a TA to your Canvas course (select “Login ID” and add with Onyen), they are automatically given access to student submissions and grades, and all TAs and instructors should complete the University Registrar’s FERPA training. If you have rosters that are not cross-listed but you’d like to manage them in one Canvas course, you can cross-list your sections.
2. Add Syllabus and Course Documents
In the Syllabus tool, click the Edit button to upload your course syllabus. You can upload the rest of your course documents into Files by simply dragging and dropping them all in at once!
3. Give Students Access
Publish your course when you’re ready to give students access! Remember that student access in Canvas is determined by the site being published and the course/term dates. By default, students have access through the end of the month that term ends (Dec. 31 for FA24) unless you update the course end date.
4. Welcome Students
Send an announcement to your students welcoming them to your course and letting them know to access the online course materials through canvas.unc.edu. This will be especially helpful for any students new to the University.
5. Set up Zoom
If you’re meeting with students online or recording lectures to share with students, set up Zoom for your course. If you set your Zoom meeting to be a recurring meeting through the end of the semester or with “No Fixed Time,” you can reuse the same Zoom meeting. In Canvas, you can schedule and join Zoom meetings directly through the integrated Zoom Pro tool! You can also set up Zoom office hours and have your students book appointments through Zoom Pro.
Note: Be sure to log into Zoom through UNC.zoom.us . If you ever use a non-UNC Zoom account, make sure the Zoom application on your computer is correctly logged into your UNC Zoom account. Open the Zoom app > click your photo/avatar in the top right > account should show YourOnyen@email.unc.edu.
Good Luck!
We wish you all the best with the start of the fall semester. Remember to click the Help tool within Canvas to access 24/7 chat and phone support. Have fun exploring the Canvas system!