Course dates determine when students can view and/or participate inside of a live site. Please see how term dates, course dates, and section dates work in Canvas.
This page will explain how to provide students early access to the course and which Canvas notifications students will receive.
Course Dates Settings
The settings portion of the course is available to instructors and TA’s. In Course Navigation, click the Settings link, then scroll down to the Course Dates:
- Participation: When course sites are created, participation is set to Course.
- Course Start Date: The default date is set to the start of the academic term. Different schools have earlier or later start dates. This date can be changed by the instructors or at the request of the department.
- Course End Date: The course end date is set approximately 1 month after the end of the academic term to prevent students from getting locked out immediately. This date can be changed if the instructor would like to extend access after the semester has ended.
- Restrict students from viewing course before start date: This option will restrict students from viewing course content before the course start date. If this is unchecked when a course site is published, students can view course content at any time before the course begins.
- Restrict students from viewing course after end date: This option will restrict students from viewing course content after the course end date. If this is unchecked in a published site, students can still view the course but all content is displayed in a read-only state.
Provide Students Early Read-Only Access
Read-only access allows students to view the course, syllabus, and non-date restricted content. Students will not be able to submit assignments, discussions, or quizzes. To provide students early read-only access, change the Participation settings to:
Course Start Date: Leave default term start dates
Course End Date: Leave default term end dates
Restrict students from viewing course before start date: UN-CHECKED
Restrict students from viewing course after end date: UN-CHECKED
With these settings, you can send students a message in Canvas and post course announcements that will be visible in the Canvas LMS.
- Students will receive a email notification if you send them a message.
- Students will not receive a email notification if you post a new course announcement. If you want the students to receive an email notification for announcements, you will need to open the course to Early Full Access.
Provide Students Early Full Access
Early full access means starting the course before the official term start date. Students will be able to start the course and submit assignments/quizzes, unless you set individually available from/to dates on each assignment, quiz, or discussion. To fully open the course early, set the following Course Date Settings:
Course Start Date: Empty Field
Course End Date: Leave default term end dates
Restrict students from viewing course before start date: UN-CHECKED
Restrict students from viewing course after end date: UN-CHECKED
With these settings, you can send students a message in Canvas and post course announcements that will be visible in the Canvas LMS.
- Students will receive a email notification if you send them a message.
- Students will receive a email notification if you post a new course announcement.
Additional Resources
- How do I use course settings?
- How do I restrict student access to a course before or after the course dates?
- How do I change the start and end dates for a course?
- How do term dates, course dates, and section dates work in Canvas?
- How do I bulk update due dates and availability dates as an instructor?
- What is the difference between assignment due dates and availability dates?
- Student Course Visibility & Participation Flowchart