Start of Semester Checklist (Canvas)
❏ Create your Canvas Course
- Log into Canvas by clicking on the “Sign Ons” link on the upper right-hand corner (above the search box) of Iowa State University’s home page.
- Navigate to the ? Help (left side of your screen).
- Locate and click on the Global Course Administration link
- Click on the Select Prepare to Teach link
Select the appropriate term from the dropdown menu, then follow the steps outlined below:
- Locate your Unlinked Registrar Sections and grab the section you wish to use.
- Note: If the section you are teaching is not listed, you will need to be added as the Instructor of Record. Locate your staff member via the Registrar’s Departmental Contact page. If the department is not listed, contact the Office of the Registrar at 515-294-1840 or email registrar@iastate.edu.
- Drag it over the top box labeled Drag Sections Here to Create a New Canvas Course. When the border turns blue, release your mouse button to create the Canvas course. In the pop-up window, choose whether to create a blank course or include the ISU Template.
- Your newly created Canvas course will appear alphabetically in the list below. Your Registrar section is now connected to Canvas. Drag additional sections to the same course to combine them into one Canvas course. Sections will display as having “0 Students” until data is automatically received from AccessPlus, approximately 2 weeks before the start of the semester. Once student data is received, students will automatically gain access when both of the following conditions have been met:
- the course is published (see Publish Course below)
- the term start date has passed, typically 1 week before the start of classes unless you specify otherwise (see Specify Course Settings below)
- Click on the course name to navigate to your course.
Notes:
- If the target term is not yet available, you will need to Request a New Course Shell. See the Prepare to Teach page for more details and other options.
- It is expected that you will see 0 Students in the section until shortly before the start of the term.
- Use the Manage Additional People tool to add non-Registrar users to the course.

❏ Add Course Content and Specify Course Settings
Tip: Do you use Groups in Canvas?
If using groups, you will need to recreate the group structure each semester. Navigate to the People page and create your groupset(s) using the same groupset name(s) as the previous semester. Having this structure in place at the beginning will automatically update your group discussions and assignments during the content import process.
- Import content from your previously taught course:
- From the Home page of your Canvas course, choose Import Course Content on the right sidebar.
- Choose Content Type Copy a Canvas Course.
- Select All Content or Specific Content, depending on your needs.
Note: If you are unable to locate a previous course, it is likely concluded. See Course Conclusion in Canvas for more information.
Or, create new content from scratch:
- View the Course Building Basics for general guidance.
- Follow the Canvas Instructor Guide for directions on each Canvas feature.
- Add content from one of the ISU-approved instructional tools.
Note: Be sure to include appropriate syllabus statements.
- Rename your course to add/remove section identifiers to the course’s actual name (see the change name/course code guide).
- Under Name, change the course name to reflect what you want students to see on the course tile found on their Dashboard. See example course tile below:
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and choose Update Course Details.
- Under Name, change the course name to reflect what you want students to see on the course tile found on their Dashboard. See example course tile below:
- Set your students’ access dates and permissions. Note: There are two options for access dates. You can choose to set via Term or Course.
- To set via Course
- Under the “Participation” entry, select “Course.”
- Enter alternate Start and End dates if students need access earlier than one week before the semester begins or longer than two weeks after classes end.
- Restrict students from seeing the course outside these dates. You can choose to restrict students before and/or after these dates.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and choose Update Course Details.
- To set via Term
- Under the “Participation” entry, select “Term.”
- The Start and End dates will no longer be editable. They are set dates for the entire term.
- Restrict students from seeing the course outside these dates. You can choose to restrict students before and/or after these dates.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and choose Update Course Details.
- To set via Course
- Simplify Course Navigation (see manage custom navigation links page).
- Under the Navigation tab, drag and drop items to show or hide them from your left navigation menu.
- All courses are strongly encourage to use the Syllabus Statements feature to integrate the required and recommended syllabus statements. More information about this feature can be found on the Syllabus Statements feature page.
- Scroll to the bottom of the page and choose Save.
- Under the Navigation tab, drag and drop items to show or hide them from your left navigation menu.
- Navigate back to your Home page to use the Student View to check the visibility of individual items and Modules as a whole (use student view in a browser or student view in Canvas Teacher app). Additionally, Student View adds a test student to Grades. After participating in Student View, enter your Gradebook as a teacher to view any Test Student entries.
See the Additional Course Settings page for more details.

❏ Choose a Home Page
Note: If you created your course using the ISU Course Template, the course home page will already be specified.
Navigate to Home on the left navigation within your course.
- The Home Page is the first impression of a course. Use Choose Home Page to select the option that best enables your students to access content and navigate the course.

❏ Publish Course
- Log into Canvas by clicking on the “Sign Ons” link on the upper right-hand corner (above the search box) of Iowa State University’s home page.
- Navigate to the ? Help (left side of your screen).
- Locate and click on the Global Course Administration link
- Click on the Select Prepare to Teach link
Then, follow these steps:
- Click the toggle to Publish the course.
- The left course card will turn green and the toggle will say “YES” when the course is published.

REMINDER: Student enrollment is handled by Registrar data that updates nightly.
If a student does not have access to your course but feels they should be in the course, please refer them to the Registrar's office. Adding a student to the course manually can cause issues with enrollment, payment, and grade processing.
For more helpful information on building your course in Canvas, see the CELT Build Your Course page.