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Canvas Frequently Asked Questions

You'll find answers to these questions on this page:

For course instructors and staff:

How do I get a Canvas account?

Faculty, students, and post-doctoral fellows have Canvas accounts created automatically when they join Caltech. Staff who wish to obtain a Canvas account should email the Canvas team (canvas@caltech.edu). Course auditors can request access to a course using this form.

What browser is best for Canvas?

For best performance, Instructure recommends their products should be used on the current or previous major releases of Chrome, Firefox, Edge, or Safari. In our experience Chrome is preferred, Firefox and Edge perform adequately, and we do not recommend Safari. If you have other questions, please review the computer and browser requirements recommended by Instructure.

How do I find my course(s)?

Students: Canvas courses become available to students a) one week before the start of classes AND b) the instructor has published the course. If you do not see a Canvas course for a class you are enrolled in, it may not be published yet or the instructor may be using a different website.Faculty: Canvas courses are created automatically based on information from the Registrar's Office and available to instructors approximately 6-8 weeks before the start of the term. Please contact the registrar to update course instructor information.

How do I get more (or fewer) notifications from Canvas?

The frequency and types of notifications you receive can be customized. Instructions are slightly different if you are an instructor or a student. You can also view our pages on communications for faculty and students.

How do I get more Canvas help?

You can access 24/7 Tier 1 help via the Canvas Help menu (found in the left-hand navigation of Canvas). For Caltech-specific help or assistance with Canvas integrations with Gradescope, Piazza, Perusall, etc. email canvas@caltech.edu.

How can I share course materials with someone else?

See our page on Sharing Content.

Why can't I add someone to my Canvas site?

Unfortunately, we are unable to add people to courses in which they were not enrolled due to FERPA laws protecting student privacy. If you simply need to share course content with someone (for example, someone who will now be teaching the course instead of you), visit our Sharing Content page. Other course access requests (administrative staff, etc.) should be sent to canvas@caltech.edu.

How can I share my syllabus?

If you have used the syllabus page in Canvas, you can simply share the URL of that page with any member of the Caltech community (including having it posted in the Registrar's Schedule of Classes). The page will be viewable to members of Caltech with a Canvas account / Caltech credential. Please note: If you have posted a link to any file on that page (such as to problems sets or answer keys), these files will also be viewable despite the visibility settings of your course or files.

Can I make my Canvas site public?

It IS possible to make your Canvas course available to the public - with restrictions. First, it is imperative that none of your module content contains FERPA-restricted information. Canvas courses have three possible settings: course, institution, public. If you want to make the content of your course available to the public (outside the Caltech community), please review this documentation and then email canvas@caltech.edu to request the change.

My course has been "concluded"; what does that mean and how do I find students' grades, submissions, etc. from it?

Canvas never deletes past grades or student submissions, but sometimes they can be hard to find after a course is "concluded". A course is typically concluded when all the grades have been recorded with the Registrar and we have reached Add Day of the following term. Concluding a course is simply a way to archive the course (removing it from your Dashboard of active courses) and preserving grades and work in a read-only format. To access information from a concluded course, follow the instructions in our guide. You can also still copy modules, content, or items from a concluded course by following the instructions on our importing course content page.

Some of my uploaded files are big. How much storage do I have?

Courses are allotted 2 GB each, but larger files can be shared in different ways. See more information about course storage options on the General Information page.

I have been asked to help build a Canvas course for a faculty member. How do I get access?

Email the Canvas support team at canvas@caltech.edu.