Canvas Policies

This page contains Canvas information and policies for faculty.

Use of Canvas

Canvas is the course management system used at Stetson University.

Creation of Courses

A Canvas course shell is automatically created for each course taught at Stetson University. Therefore, instructors do not need to request the creation of a Canvas course shell for a course listed in the current class schedule. Shells for an upcoming semester are created eight weeks prior to the beginning of a new semester. Stetson University faculty and staff who wish to request the creation of a Canvas course shell for purposes other than courses listed in the Stetson University Catalog need to contact the I.T. Help Desk.

Creation of Student Accounts

New and returning students are added to Canvas throughout the academic year. Prior to the beginning of each semester, registered students are automatically brought into Canvas from Banner and are added to the correct course according to the course reference number (C.R.N.). Additionally, student enrollment information is updated daily from Banner. Updates resulting from students dropping or adding courses will be reflected in Canvas within one to two hours of a change in Banner. Students will continue to have access to courses for at least one month following the posting of final grades.

Canvas Account and Password Information

The Canvas username and password are the same as those for network and email accounts. If a student or faculty member forgets their password, they should contact the I.T. Help Desk.

Guest Access

Since Canvas is only used for Stetson University courses, guest access has been disabled. Only current Stetson University students are allowed to access Canvas with the use of their designated username and password. If you have a guest who needs access, contact the I.T. Help Desk to discuss possible options.

Problems with Canvas Accounts or Canvas Server

If you encounter any problems with Canvas , please contact the I.T. Help Desk. You may also submit a question via "Contact System Administrator" under Help in the Canvas Help Links.This is the only way the Canvas administrator will know about your problem.

Course Archival

Periodically, courses will be deactivated from Canvas and archived on a Stetson University server. The Canvas administrator will send emails reminding faculty that all classes will be archived. If an alternative to this procedure is desired, please contact the I.T. Help Desk.

Canvas Data Backup

The Canvas server is backed up daily. The backups are for full restoration purposes only. If for some reason the system fails, these backups will be used to restore the database. If you have deleted or changed any individual items, IT may not be able to retrieve them. It is important that you maintain your own copies and archives. The following are categories of archives, exports and downloads that are available within Canvas :

  • Full Course Archive: creates a permanent record of a course including all the content and user interactions. Archived courses are a permanent record of the course.
  • Export Course: creates a package of the course content only that can later be imported into a Canvas system.
  • Export Grade Center: downloads and saves the Grade Center as a comma-delimited file for use in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
  • Download Assignments: enables the instructor to download student assignments and save them.

Course Content Backup

Your course will remain active in Canvas for the current semester. If you teach your course more than once a year, you can copy your course content into your next semester's course. You can also back up your course content locally to your personal computer. I.T. will also archive all courses. These archived courses can be requested for reactivation by contacting the I.T. Help Desk. After three calendar years, all archived courses will be deleted.

Student Content Backup

If you would like to keep your students' files after the current semester, you must keep your own records of grades and assignments. Instructors can export and save the Grade Center with Canvas's export feature. This information can be saved as an Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. All student files uploaded as Assignments or Tests can be downloaded to a faculty member's computer and stored for future reference.

Account Deletion

User accounts will remain active for the duration of their affiliation with the university. Once a user's affiliation with Stetson University ceases, their Canvas account will be removed. Faculty who leave the university but need to maintain their involvement in an active course site may request that their Canvas accounts be converted for external access. Departing faculty who wish to assign ownership of their Stetson University Canvas sites or the sites' content to another Stetson University faculty or staff member may freely do so.

Retention of Student Coursework and Grade Data

I.T.'s data retention policy does not allow the retention of student grade data or coursework after the end of the semester. When course sites are removed from the server, student data will not be copied or retained. Therefore, prior to the removal date, it is the instructor's responsibility to download a copy of their sites' Grade Center pages and any other student data that they need to retain in order to comply with the university's policies on records retention. It is strongly recommended that instructors create and save a full archive of each of their course sites at the end of each semester. A full archive should contain all student data, such as submitted assignments, discussion board postings and test responses.

Course and File Size Quotas

The default course size limit for faculty and staff for each Canvas site is 250 MB. When a Canvas site's size approaches the quota limit, an automatic warning email will be sent to the Canvas administrator, who will contact the instructor to review options. The maximum size for a single file upload on Canvas is 100 MB when uploading assignments and digital files. This file upload quota means that you will not be able to upload files over 100 MB into Canvas . However, faculty and staff can request additional auxiliary storage for large multimedia files that can be linked to their Canvas course site. Instructors who require a larger disk quota for either themselves or their students may contact the I.T. Help Desk, detailing their need for additional file storage. Large multimedia files associated with a Canvas course can be stored and accessed on a dedicated Stetson University media server that is linked from the course's Canvas site. 

Canvas Help

The Help link in the LMS offers "Canvas Help" from Instructure. Please utilize these great resources as needed.