Roll Call Attendance Tool in Canvas

Canvas includes a built-in attendance tool called Attendance (Also known as "Roll Call"), which allows instructors to track attendance in real time using either a list or a seating chart view. This tool is especially helpful for face-to-face or hybrid courses where you want to assign attendance grades or closely monitor participation.

Note: Roll Call is not the only attendance tool available. Review our comparison of Attendance Tools in Canvas.

Key Features of Roll Call

Track attendance by student list or seating chart (up to 625 students per section)
- Starting Spring 2026: Attendance data tracked in Roll Call is automatically sent to Navigate and Banner.
Filter attendance by course section
Export attendance reports to a CSV file
Add custom badges to monitor student behavior
Automatically display attendance as a percentage in a gradebook column
Viewable by students through Grades or Assignments if visibility is enabled

How to Use Roll Call Attendance

Step 1: Enable the Attendance Tool

Roll Call is accessed via the Attendance link in the course navigation menu. If you don't see it, follow the steps in Managing Course Navigation Links to enable it.

Step 2: Take Attendance

Once the Attendance link is added and the course is published, you can start taking attendance using Roll Call. Students can be marked Present, Absent, or Late.

Step 3: Grading, Adjustments, and Best Practices

Review the considerations below to understand the various aspects of Roll Call, including how to optimize attendance settings for your course needs:

Roll Call Assignment Settings

The Roll Call Attendance assignment is automatically created when attendance is first taken on any student within a course. To prevent it from impacting the course grade, you have several options:

Move it into a weighted assignment group worth 0%
Manually set its point value of the assignment to zero
In Roll Call settings, select Do not count attendance toward final grade

Using the Seating Chart View

Instructors teaching in-person courses can use the seating chart view to visually track attendance by assigned seats.

Managing Student Notifications and Grade Visibility

The attendance grade updates in real-time whenever someone is marked present or absent, triggering Canvas notifications to students stating "Your grade has changed" for each attendance entry, regardless of whether the change is positive.

Student Solution: Students can adjust their notification preferences on a course-by-course basis to reduce these frequent updates.
Instructor Solution: Set the grade posting policy to "Manual" to hide both grades and notifications from students until you choose to release them, giving you control over when students see their attendance status.

Important: Do Not Delete, Unpublish, or Rename the Roll Call Assignment

Deleting, unpublishing, or renaming the Roll Call Attendance assignment may break the attendance tool in the course. This is non-repairable. Instead, set its value to 0 points or move it to a non-weighted assignment group if you do not want it factored into grades.

Understand Attendance Grading

Roll Call creates one cumulative grade column showing attendance as a percentage. This grade is updated each time attendance is taken for individuals on separate days within the Attendance menu. Canvas does not track or display daily attendance records individually in the gradebook, it is cumulative.

Understand Roll Call Badges

Custom badges created by instructors (e.g., "Participated," "Late Arrival") are for instructor reference only and do not affect student grades or attendance records.

The system-wide "Excused" badge should be used if you plan to use the tool for confirmation of attendance in Banner, as it marks the absence as excused in Banner exclusively.

Video Overview

Confirmation of Attendance: How Attendance Data from Roll Call Syncs with Banner and Navigate

Note: Soon, attendance data from Roll Call will sync to Banner and Navigate to serve as confirmation of attendance. However, the global rollout for this feature will not be implemented until the start of the Spring 2026 term. Until then, attendance data is only available within Canvas and will not sync to systems like Banner/Navigate. Thank you for your understanding.

Attendance taken using Roll Call is automatically exported to Banner and Navigate each evening. Manual entry into those systems is not needed if an instructor decides to utilize the Roll Call tool in Canvas.

How is Late attendance handled?

Students marked as Late in Canvas will be recorded in Banner as Present with 15 minutes deducted from total Hours Attended.
- Example: A 1 hour 15-minute class will record as 1 hour for a late mark.

How are Excused absences handled when using Canvas Attendance?

To mark a student with an excused absence and ensure that this is reflected in Banner and Navigate, follow these steps:

Mark the student as Absent within Roll Call.
Apply the Excused badge within Roll Call.

Excused absences will be recorded differently in each portal.

Excused absence in Banner: Absent with the Absence Notified box checked.
Excused absence in Navigate: Absent with the Excused box checked.

Additional Considerations for Attendance Syncing to Banner/Navigate

In Canvas, applying the Excused badge does not remove the absence from the attendance grade calculation. If attendance is part of the course's final grade, leaving attendance unmarked and adding the Excused badge may be preferable to avoid penalizing the student.
Canvas does not support adding instructor notes to attendance entries. Notes must be entered manually in Banner.
Canvas allows attendance recording on any date. Banner accepts this, but Navigate only displays attendance tied to scheduled meeting days.
Badges created in Roll Call (example, "Participated," "Late Arrival") are for instructor use only. They are not visible to students and do not affect Banner or Navigate attendance data.

FAQ: Roll Call Attendance Tool

What is the student experience like?

Students will find the Attendance assignment alongside their other coursework, wherever it's posted. When they open it, they'll see an intuitive dashboard that visualizes their attendance data at a glance. They can track their current attendance percentage in real-time, promoting transparency and helping them stay informed about their progress.

Do I have to use the Roll Call Attendance tool?

No. The Roll Call Attendance tool is one of several methods instructors can use to record attendance. The choice of tool typically aligns with the instructor's teaching style and course structure. The main benefit of Roll Call is that it automatically uploads attendance data to Banner and Navigate, eliminating the need to track attendance in multiple places.

Can students mark their own attendance?

No. Only instructors or users with Teacher-level grading permissions can take attendance using Roll Call.

Can I get a report of all attendance records?

Yes. You can run reports to review attendance data for your students. The report is sent to your email and can be downloaded as a CSV file.

Where do I submit feature requests?

Roll Call is managed by Instructure, Canvas' parent company. While the Instructional Technology team can submit suggestions, they cannot guarantee that any changes will be made.

How can I stop students from receiving attendance grade notifications?

Student Solution: Students can adjust their notification preferences on a course-by-course basis to reduce these frequent updates.
Instructor Solution: Set the attendance grade to use a manual posting policy. This approach hides both grades and notifications from students until you choose to release them, giving you control over when students see their attendance status.

How do I handle excused absences for grading purposes?

This is a common challenge. The Roll Call Attendance tool cannot manage excused absences in the traditional sense for grading purposes. If a student has an excused absence but you want them to receive full attendance credit, they must be marked as present. There is no way to mark a student as absent and still receive full credit for attendance in that day's grade calculation.

Best Practice: For students with excused absences, mark them as present for grade calculation purposes, but use the "Excused" badge to ensure proper Banner/Navigate syncing if needed for official record-keeping.