Canvas Adoption Policy and Guidance
To ensure consistent access to course materials, including syllabi, for all UT Austin students, the University requires a minimum presence within the University’s Learning Management System (LMS), Canvas, for every organized undergraduate and graduate course with five or more students each semester (aka Canvas Adoption Policy).
Defining “Minimum Canvas Presence”
Under the Canvas Adoption Policy minimum presence has two requirements as follows:
- Publishing Courses in the LMS: Each instructor of record for an organized undergraduate and graduate course (courses scheduled in the course scheduling system with the instructional types: Lecture, Lab, Seminar, Clinical Organized) with five or more students enrolled must publish their course in the University’s official LMS by the first day of class each semester.
- Publishing Syllabi in the LMS: Each instructor of record for organized undergraduate and graduate courses (courses scheduled in the course scheduling system with the instructional types: Lecture, Lab, Seminar, Clinical Organized) with five or more students must publish their syllabus in the University’s official LMS by the first day of class. To remain in compliance with the syllabus requirement, instructors must post their syllabus in the LMS using the Simple Syllabus tool or attach their syllabus as a file in the Syllabus section of the LMS with the term “syllabus” included in the filename.
Help
For assistance publishing courses or syllabi in the Canvas LMS, please contact the University’s Canvas team, drop by during Office Hours or attend a workshop.
Exceptions
The following courses are automatically exempt from this policy.
- Courses offered for zero credits
- Individual instruction courses (courses scheduled in the course scheduling system with the instructional types: Practicum, Independent Study, Private Lesson, Thesis, Dissertation, Individualized Instruction, Clinical Individualized Instruction)
- Organized courses (courses scheduled in the course scheduling system with the instructional types: Lecture, Lab, Seminar, Clinical Organized) with fewer than five students enrolled as of the first day of class.
Other exceptions will be subject to Chair approval; Instructors may submit a Canvas Adoption Policy Exception Request for review by their Chair, Dean’s office, and the Office of Academic Affairs.
Reminder Electronic Communication about Grades
To ensure students can effectively self-direct their learning, instructors should consistently use the University’s LMS gradebook in Canvas to communicate about specific course grades. Students frequently report that they are unable to access up-to-date information about their course grades or their standing in a course. This limits their ability to effectively self-regulate and manage their own learning efforts. Instructors can help students’ independent efforts to improve their learning by providing them with up-to-date, accessible information about their progress on course assignments and assessments. The University’s Canvas team has numerous resources available to guide instructors in providing consistent grade information to their students.
Existing state, federal, and University policy requires instructors must use methods approved by the University’s Information Resources Use and Security Policy (IRUSP) to communicate electronically with students about confidential Student Records, including grades. IRUSP (UT IRUSP 2.1) specifies that University e-mail is not an approved method for electronic communication with students about confidential Student Records, including specific details about course or assignment grades. Because Canvas Conversations and Inbox sends copies of information to instructor and student emails, Canvas Conversations and Inbox is also not an IRUSP-approved tool for communicating about specific course grades. To remain in compliance with FERPA, the Information Security Office recommends instructors conduct all electronic communication with students about specific course grades through tools approved through the Information Resources Use and Security Policy, such as Canvas Gradebook, Canvas Speedgrader, Microsoft Teams, UT Box, or other approved messaging or collaboration services that are encrypted end-to-end. For questions regarding what end-to-end encryption means and specific tools approved for communicating with students about grades according to ISO
FAQs
Contact the Office of Academic Technology at oat@utexas.edu.
Yes, it applies to both undergraduate and graduate organized courses with a minimum enrollment of at least five students.
Yes, all courses that are offered for zero credits, scheduled as individual instruction courses, or organized courses with fewer than five students will be automatically excepted from this policy. Other exceptions will be subject to the approval of the Chair and Dean in the instructor of record’s department and College, School, or Unit (CSU); Instructors may submit Policy Exception Requests for review by Academic Affairs.
Yes, Information Technology Services provides dedicated Canvas training, including training on how to publish a Course in Canvas, successfully attach a Syllabus to the Canvas Syllabus page with the appropriate file name, and how to use Simple Syllabus requirement. In addition, training will be available on different options for communicating with students about graded assignments in Canvas. You can request a consultation with the Canvas team, drop by during Office Hours, or attend a workshop.
If the third-party tool is on the External Apps vetted and approved list or there’s a current University contract (central, CSU, or departmental) in place and you are using the tool through a Canvas integration, you may conduct electronic communication about graded assignments through that tool. For questions, please contact the Office of Academic Technology at oat@utexas.edu.
No. Handwritten feedback does not need to be put into Canvas.
Contact the Office of Academic Technology at oat@utexas.edu.