There are several things to consider and complete before the beginning of each academic semester. These are outlined below with corresponding details to help you complete these tasks successfully. It is also important to remember that the academic template will be the default home page for your course. This home page contains all of the required elements in regard to student information.

If you need assistance locating your courses, visit the "Where can I find all of my courses?" page located here.

Click here to better understand the academic course template.

Recorded Workshop: Preparing for a New Semester

Click on the title of a section below to expand the section for more details.

Beginning of Semester Tasks

ADD A SYLLABUS TO YOUR COURSE

You are required to provide your students with a syllabus in the LMS.

Moodle did not have a specific place for the syllabus. You simply added the syllabus file to the "Course Start Here" module. Canvas has a special place for the syllabus. Look on the sidebar for your course and locate the "Syllabus" link. This is where you should upload your syllabus.

Open your Canvas course.
Click on the "Syllabus" link in the left-hand sidebar.
Click "Edit" at the top of the page.
Click the file icon on the rich text editor (RCE) toolbar to insert the file.
- If you have already uploaded the file to your course, choose "Course Documents" from the list and select the file.
- If you have not uploaded the file yet, choose "Upload Document" and select the file to be added from your computer.
Click update Syllabus to save.

Canvas Pro Tip: Always set your file to preview inline and Expand preview by Default. This makes the document automatically show as embedded on the page for students to view without having to download and open the syllabus.

Click the link to the file in the editor.
Choose "Link Options"
- Toggle on "Preview inline".
- Check the box for "Expand preview by default.

Location of link options settings

PUBLISH YOUR COURSE

Students cannot see your course in Canvas until you have published it. To publish your course, follow the directions in this Canvas guide.

The academic course shell is created with a course start date that matches the date for the first official day of classes in the Southeastern Academic Calendar. With this in mind, you can allow students to access your course prior to the start date by adjusting the course setting related to student access.

Click on "Settings" from the sidebar on the left-hand side of your course.
Uncheck the box next to "Restrict students from viewing course before course start date".
- You must publish the course for students to access it regardless of this setting.
- When enabled, student access before the start date is read-only. This means that they can view course content, but cannot submit work or take quizzes until the start date.
- You can also further hide information in your course by not publishing entire modules or individual content or activities.

Setting to disable to allow students to view the course before the start date

CHECK GRADEBOOK SETUP

All course gradebooks should match the grading policy found in your syllabus. Use the resources below to assist you with the gradebook setup of your course.

Recorded Workshop: Grading and Feedback

Canvas Guide: How do I weight the final course grade on assignment groups?

Understanding Grades and Grading in Canvas

Creating Assignment Groups and Moving Assignments into Groups
Adding Weights to Your Assignment Groups
Adding a Manual Grade Item to Your Gradebook

Recorded Workshop: Organize & Setup Grades in Canvas

IMPORT CONTENT TO YOUR COURSE

If you have a sandbox course or access to a prior year's course in Canvas, you can import the content from that course into a current academic course. Use the guide below to understand the process of copying course content.

Canvas Guide: What is the course import tool?

Cheat Sheet: Canvas Course Imports