Cross-Listing: Combine Multiple Canvas Courses

Important: Cross-listing is only recommended before students begin working on a course. Due to the risk of lost data, this action cannot be reversed by the instructor; however, you can request the course be de-cross-listed by the Canvas administrator.

Cross-listing combines multiple Canvas courses into one. It is recommended when teaching similar materials and learning experiences across different sections of the same course, as it allows you to differentiate access dates, communications, assignments, and modules per section. You also retain the ability to sort the gradebook by section. If you teach more than one Canvas course each term, cross-listing can streamline your teaching by reducing the number of courses you manage.

Perform cross-listing before copying content or building your courses. Any content in a section that is not designated as the parent course will be hidden from both you and your students, and student activity data and assignments will become inaccessible. To cross-list a Canvas course:

Login to Cardinal Apps and open Canvas LMS.
Open the "parent" course and copy the course ID from the Canvas URL: The course ID is the numerical value in the URL after /courses/. For example, in https://canvas.uiw.edu/courses/47585/settings, 47585 is a course ID.
Open the "child" course to be cross-listed and navigate to Settings.
Select the Sections tab.
Select the name of the section to open it — this step is critical and commonly skipped!
Click the Cross-List This Section button.
In the dialogue box that appears, paste the parent course ID from Step 2 into the ID field, and press Enter.
Confirm the parent course is correct and select Cross-List This Section.
A confirmation message will appear...
Refresh your dashboard view. You will now see one combined course, and all students from both sections will be enrolled in that single course.

Repeat steps 3-10 for each child course you want to cross-list within the parent course. There is no limit.

Cross-List Demonstration Video

The cross-listing process is easier to accomplish when you can see the steps. Follow along with this 4-minute demonstration:

Cross-listing FAQ

Can each section have a different participation start date?

Yes. Instructors can control the date and start times differently for each section of students. Learn how to manage course access in six minutes.

Can each section have different assignment due dates?

Yes. Instructors can Manage Assign To options to adjust due dates for different sections. Add as many as needed to customize the experience. Note, removing an Assign To variable after entering grades will make them disappear from your gradebook - always add additional ones instead of deleting them.

Can I undo my decision to cross-list my courses?

While you can't undo the decision yourself, it can be reversed by the Canvas administrator by emailing canvas@uiwtx.edu. However, once you de-cross-list enrollments, all grades and student submissions are removed from the course (since the course can no longer associate the information with any course enrollments). If you need to retain student grades and put them in the original course, you should export the Gradebook and import it into the original course before de-cross-listing the section.

Can I cross-list two different courses?

Cross-listing is typically used for combining two or more sections of the same course at UIW. If you are teaching courses with different course numbers, consult the Office of the Registrar to determine if your courses are best managed cross-listed through Banner rather than the manual instructor process.