Canvas Access and Course Management FAQ

Canvas at UIW is supported through a collaborative process between departments and systems across the university. While the Office of Teaching, Learning, and Technology manages instructional support and platform administration, other units, including the Registrar, Human Resources, and IT, play key roles in access, course creation, and enrollment pipelines.

This guide contains answers to frequently asked questions about accessing Canvas, course creation, publishing, participation dates, and user roles. For additional help, contact UIW Canvas Support.

How do UIW users access Canvas?

UIW users need active university credentials to access Canvas. When a student is admitted or an employee is hired, they receive access to Cardinal Apps, where Canvas is available once the appropriate roles and courses are assigned.

If you are having trouble accessing Canvas, resetting your passphrase, or finding Cardinal Apps, contact the HelpDesk at (210) 829-2721 or submit a ticket through the Service Portal.

Faculty and staff with no enrollments will see a message that they have no courses. Their dashboard updates once they are added to courses in Canvas.

What if I don't go to UIW?

Some exceptions exist, such as the Professional and Continuing Education program through the School of Professional Studies, where users are manually added to Canvas and receive special login instructions. These individuals do not use Cardinal Apps. Contact your program representative for assistance logging in to Canvas.

What types of Canvas courses are available to faculty?

Academic Courses: Created and managed via Banner and reflect the official class schedule. These are automatically populated with instructors and students.
Support Courses: Manually created for administrative, training, or support purposes. These are not tied to Banner and can be requested via UIW Canvas Support.
Sandbox Courses: Blank courses used for training, testing, or preparing course materials. Faculty can request a sandbox at any time but should only have a single sandbox course outside of rare exceptions.
Development Courses: Courses designed to build and copy forward into academic course shells. These can also be used to experiment, as they are tied to a specific subject or course number.

How are academic courses created?

Step 1: The Registrar creates the schedule

A few months before a new term, the Registrar creates the schedule of classes with instructor assignments and enters the information into Banner.

Step 2: Banner communicates with Canvas

Before the start of the primary undergraduate terms for Fall, Spring, and Summer, Banner begins sending course and enrollment information to Canvas. Canvas uses that information to create academic course shells and enroll instructors with Teacher access. A global announcement is posted in Canvas when courses are created each term, with links to resources for copying content and getting started.

If you need a course shell earlier, request a development course to start building your materials in advance.

Step 3: Ongoing communication between Banner and Canvas

If there are changes to the instructor, departments update the information in Banner. Banner continues to communicate with Canvas several times daily to keep course enrollments current throughout the term. If you are not enrolled in a course or someone is missing, confirm that the information in Banner is correct.

Faculty can manually add other roles, such as Designers or Observers, to their courses, but not students.

Important: The Canvas course SIS ID is built using information from Banner, including subject code, course number, section code, part of term, semester abbreviation, and year. If course details change after the initial Banner feed, Canvas will generate a new course shell and move enrollments. Users who have already begun building or using the original course shell will lose access to it. The data is not lost; contact UIW Canvas Support if you have questions.

How do I make my course available to students?

There are two things that control whether students can access your course: publishing and participation dates. Both must be configured correctly for students to get in.

Publishing

Courses, modules, and content items are all created in an unpublished state to support the instructor's development process. This provides an extra layer of privacy, allowing you to ensure quality and accuracy before going live. Use the Student View button to confirm what students can see.

Level 1: Course Publish

Think of publishing as the "go-live button" for the entire course. Until it is published, no students can access it regardless of other settings. Learn how to publish a Canvas course.

Level 2: Module Publish

Modules create structure in your course and form a linear pathway for students through your content. If a module is not published, students cannot see it or any items inside it. Learn how to publish a module.

Level 3: Item Publish

Every item (i.e., pages, assignments, and files) in Canvas has its own publish toggle. Items cannot be seen by students unless published. Note that a published item inside an unpublished module will still be hidden from students.

Tip: If you are pressed for time, use a skeleton approach: build out the course structure first with titles and a simple "details coming soon" message, then fill in content as you go. This is less confusing for students than an empty or partially visible course.

Participation Dates

Canvas participation dates control when students can actively engage with your course. Within the course settings, you can choose between Term and Course.

Term Participation

Setting a course to Term will match the start and end dates of the course with the dates of the term. Term dates are set by Banner based on the academic calendar defined by the Office of the Registrar.

Course Participation

By default, most courses are set to Course participation. This means, the start and end dates will match the values in Banner at the time of creation.

Section Dates

For cross-listed courses with multiple sections, instructors can set differentiated participation dates per section. We recommend reviewing the training video chapter on section dates before getting started.

In your course Settings, select the Sections tab.
Select the name of the section to open it.
Select Edit Section.
Enter your preferred Start and End dates and times.
Decide whether to restrict students from participating outside those dates and check the box if so.
Select Update Section to save.

What happens after a course ends?

After the term ends or participation dates pass, the course becomes read-only for all users. The Banner-to-Canvas sync is turned off approximately 20 days after the end of the term, and the course remains in Canvas for academic record-keeping. It can no longer be edited unless re-opened by request.

Instructors can adjust course participation dates in Settings before the term ends. To request changes after the course becomes read-only, contact UIW Canvas Support.

Note: It is a common misconception that removing the end date is required to let students access the course after it concludes. This is not the case. Unless the restriction options are checked in the course settings, which they are not by default, students can return to reference course materials after the term ends. They simply cannot participate, which is expected.

What does "read-only" mean for a Canvas course?

Students: Can view materials and grades but cannot interact or submit work.
Instructors: Can copy content and view data but cannot make changes to content or grades.
Observers: Can view course content when paired with a student but cannot participate.

What if my Canvas course or enrollment is incorrect?

First, confirm the course or user is listed correctly in Banner. Academic course issues must be corrected at the source.

For support, sandbox, or development courses, the Canvas administrator can assist. If you are unsure, email UIW Canvas Support and we will help determine where the issue needs to be addressed.

Does Banner always update Canvas enrollments?

No. Twenty days after the term ends, the Banner feed is turned off for that term and Canvas course enrollment management stops. Requests to access a past course, such as for new faculty, are submitted by the Instructor of Record to UIW Canvas Support.