You can publish your course space any time you have it ready, but no later than your first class!

Three things must occur in order for students to access your Canvas course space:

The course space must be published.
1. You control this.
2. A benefit to publishing a course space prior to the start of the semester/session is that it allows the instructor and students to contact each other via Canvas’ Inbox. This does not mean students can access the course space. It only means they can use the Inbox.
The section’s start date/time must have occurred.
1. The only way a student can access a course space is when the course space IS published and the start date/time HAS passed.
2. The section’s start date/time is always 1:00 a.m. on the first day of the semester/session.
3. Only a Canvas Administrator can change this system-wide setting.
Students have been uploaded to the course space.
1. Canvas administrators begin uploading students to Canvas course spaces approximately two weeks prior to the start of a semester/session.
2. Uploads are run several times a day during the Drop/Add period and daily thereafter.

A word of caution regarding publishing course spaces early. Be sure to have all of your due dates updated prior to publishing the course space so students are not inundated with due date change notifications. Once a course is published, regardless of the semester/session start date/time, Canvas automatically messages students any changes you make to due dates.

If you've never imported a Canvas course before, Canvas makes it easy to move content from a previous term's courses to a new course space. Directions are detailed in this printable PDF.

Make sure your course is ready for your students. Refer to this task-focused checklist.

Customize your Dashboard to display just the courses you're currently working in. Directions are detailed in this previous BOLT.