Editing your Canvas Course Syllabus

Tags canvas

Quick Links: | Prerequisites | Instructions | Troubleshooting |

Creating and sharing your course syllabus in Canvas is essential for setting clear expectations with your students. This guide will walk you through uploading your syllabus document directly to Canvas. Whether you have a PDF or Word document, you'll learn how to make it accessible to your students quickly and efficiently.

Prerequisites

  • You must have instructor access to your Canvas course.
  • Have your syllabus ready in a PDF or Word format OR have our syllabus hosted on a cloud service (e.g., Google Drive) with a shareable link.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Embed Syllabus Directly in Canvas

  1. Navigate to your course's Syllabus tool from the course menu.
  2. Locate the placeholder text or the existing "Download the syllabus" link.
  3. Highlight the "Download the syllabus" text and remove the current link.
  4. With the text still highlighted, select Insert > Document > Upload Document.
    Canvas Rich Content Editor. The editor toolbar is activated. [1] points to the Insert menu. [2] points to the Document submenu. [3] points to the Upload Document option.
  5. Choose your syllabus file from your device and upload it.
  6. In Link Options, decide how you want your document to display. You can select from various display options to control how students interact with your syllabus.
  7. Remember to select Update Syllabus to apply the changes.

Link to an External Syllabus Document

  1. Go to the Syllabus section of your Canvas course.
  2. Find the placeholder or existing "Download the syllabus" link.
  3. Highlight this link and remove it.
  4. While the text is still highlighted, choose Insert > Link > External Link.
    Canvas Rich Content Editor. The editor toolbar is activated. [1] points to the Insert menu. [2] points to the Link submenu. [3] points to the External Link option.
  5. Paste the shareable link of your syllabus document into the URL field.
  6. Configure the link options according to your preference, such as opening in a new tab.
  7. Click Update Syllabus or Save to finalize the changes.

Troubleshooting

  • If you encounter issues with uploading your document, ensure the file size does not exceed Canvas's maximum upload limit.
  • If you're using an external link, ensure the syllabus document is set to "Anyone with the link can view" to prevent access issues.
  • If students report issues accessing the link, double-check the sharing settings and update the syllabus link if necessary.
  • For visibility issues, verify that your syllabus is published and the course is active.

Still need help? Reach out to Canvas support or the Technology & Learning Program for further assistance.

Details

Article ID: 113491
Created
Thu 3/2/23 2:35 PM
Modified
Mon 3/11/24 2:22 PM