Missing Submission Comments in Canvas Group Assignments

Quick Links: | Environment | Solution | Root Cause |

Instructor comments on Canvas group assignments with file uploads are not being saved properly or are not visible to students. When attempting to provide feedback through SpeedGrader, the comments appear to disappear or fail to save. This issue specifically affects group assignments where students are expected to submit files, preventing effective communication of feedback and potentially impacting student learning outcomes.

Environment

This article is relevant to you if:

• You are an instructor using Canvas group assignments
• Your group assignment is configured to accept file uploads (Online Upload submission type)
• You are attempting to add submission comments in SpeedGrader
• Canvas displays "This group does not have a submission for this assignment" when you try to add comments
• You notice that submission comments work properly on some group assignments or submissions but not others in the same course

Solution

To fix submission comments not appearing in Canvas group assignments, follow these steps:

1. Navigate to your Canvas course and select Settings
2. Select Feature Options from the course navigation menu
3. Locate Performance and Usability Upgrades for SpeedGrader
4. Select Enable for this feature
5. Return to your group assignment and select SpeedGrader
6. Add your submission comments as normal using the comment field in SpeedGrader

Now your submission comments will be properly saved and visible to both you and your students, regardless of whether groups have submitted files yet.

Alternative workarounds if you cannot enable the SpeedGrader feature:

• Wait until groups actually submit their files before adding submission comments in SpeedGrader
• To view submission comments you've already sent, go to Inbox, select the folder dropdown, and choose Submission Comments

If you need to notify student groups of a missing submission, use the Message Students Who feature from the Canvas gradebook.

Root Cause

When Canvas creates a group assignment, it automatically generates an invisible empty submission record for every group. Comments are tied to specific submission objects, not to the assignment itself. If you add comments before groups actually submit files, those comments become attached to the invisible empty submission record. Once students submit actual files, new submission objects are created and the original empty submissions become inaccessible, along with any comments attached to them. The "Performance and Usability Upgrades for SpeedGrader" feature resolves this issue by improving how Canvas handles submission comments for group assignments.