Extending Canvas Course Access

There are a number of situations where faculty want to add a person to a course or allow access beyond the standard semester dates. You might want to allow a colleague to see how you structure your course. You might have a student who needs access to a course that’s closed to deal with an incomplete. Here are some ways to help make that possible.

Adding People to Canvas

FERPA regulations apply when adding individuals to a course where they can see student information. Make sure you only add people to your course who have “an educational need to know.” You can learn more about FERPA here. Questions about FERPA can be directed to the Registrar (College / Schools / Bread Loaf | Institute).

Sharing Canvas Course Content

If you want someone to be able to see how you structure your course or you want to share the content for other reasons, you have two options. If you want to keep things in Canvas, then you’ll want to request a new course and copy your content. You may prefer to export your course in ePub format if your goal is less about the Canvas experience. Both of these paths help remove privacy concerns around student data.

Copying Your Course

  1. Request a new Canvas site for co-curricular, administrative, or other purposes.
  2. Copy content into your new site (no student data will be included).
  3. Give the individuals access to the new course.

Exporting Your Course as an ePub

  1. Exporting your Canvas course in ePub format

Changing Access Dates for Courses

By default, your Canvas course is accessible according to the course dates set by the registrar. You can change this for active courses but will need to request the change for courses that have been archived.

For active courses, you can change the “End Date” under Settings>End. This will change access for all students.

Granting Early Access

Click here for directions on granting students early access to an active course.

Access to Archived Courses

Students may need access to a course after it has closed to address an incomplete. Please email dlinq@middlebury.edu to request that the course be re-opened for the student.

More About Student Privacy

For clarifications about faculty responsibilities in protecting student educational records, please visit the links below: