Term Change Checklist | Orange Coast College

This page provides tips for faculty starting a new semester from a previous semester.

BACKUP PAST COURSES & SET-UP NEW COURSES

Past courses should never be changed because they are legal records or archives. Once a course ends, the next steps are to back up the course and then copy it to a new term shell or course development shell in Canvas. Please know that when you backup courses, your student and their assignments are not saved in the download file.

REVIEW COURSE MATERIALS AND NAVIGATION

After your course copies successfully, you are ready to prepare for the course in the new term's shell. The list below includes some of the items you need to consider. In addition, you will want to make sure all content is accessible according to ADA requirements.

Update Home Page content and/or layout
Review and update your Syllabus
Test all internal and external links using the Validate Links in your Course Settings
Publish all learning activities and contents (Discussions, Quizzes, Pages, and Assignment)
Include Close Date for each assignment. You can choose to make it the last day of the term.
Review Course Navigation links. (Keep them simple and hide the elements you are not using. This will be less overwhelming and confusing to your learners.)
NOTE: We recommend not including Files or Pages in the course navigation, but rather include them in the modules.

REVIEW MODULES

Publish all of the individual modules

If used, ensure module requirements and prerequisites are set properly
Lock any modules you do not wish your learners to view yet. Following the directions to lock the module and set it to unlock automatically on a particular date and time.
NOTE: If any modules are unfinished, either lock unfinished module(s) or unpublish the module until needed.

REVIEW ASSIGNMENTS, QUIZZES, DISCUSSIONS, AND GRADEBOOK

Check all relevant settings for assignments, discussions, and quizzes:

Setting up Assignment Groups for more accurate grades and setting up weighted grading.
directions
submission type
point value
number of quiz attempts
availability date
due date
Note: If you are using weighted grading, ensure the assignment weights align with what you want your grade book to be. You must also set up your Assignment Groups.
Note: If you use extra credit, ensure that (1) Your EC score = 0 (so not to penalize people who do not take extra credit) and (2) enable the check next to "Do not count this assignment towards the final grade" (In your datebook, remind yourself to turn this off when working on final grades)

REVIEW STUDENT EXPERIENCE

Review course using Student View, found on the Home page to the right or at the bottom of the page, to review the course from the student's perspective and to check that all modules/contents are published and updated.
If desired, submit assignment(s), or quiz(es) while in Student View to verify that everything is working properly.
NOTE: Any assignments or quizzes tested will show up in the Test Student row at the bottom of your Gradebook.

PUBLISH YOUR COURSE/VISIBILITY CHOICES

Determine what, if any, materials to keep invisible to students
NOTE: You can publish a course, yet have some or all of your material hidden from student view by not publishing Modules, Pages, Quizzes, Assignments, etc.
Once your course content is ready, publish your course to open it for student access on the first day of the semester.
NOTE: Publishing your course before the Term Date will not make the course accessible to students unless you also check the box to override the Term Date in the Course Settings.
Review the Course Visibility Setting page for explanations of the visibility settings.

INFORM STUDENTS

Your students will automatically have a Canvas account created for them at the time they register. You do NOT need to instruct them how to get a Canvas account.
Students will not receive an automatic announcement alerting them to their Canvas course. For that reason, after you publish your Canvas course, the Instructional Innovation Center recommends you send a message from the Inbox within Canvas. (This ensures that students unfamiliar to Canvas will get your message.)
Here is a sample message:

We are using the Canvas course management system for this course. Please see the Student Help for Canvas web page, which provides instructions for logging in, finding your course, and confirming your email to receive Canvas notifications.

Your first due date in Canvas for this course is [date 11:59 pm]. I recommend that you log in to Canvas now to read the Syllabus and participate in the Check-in Discussion, which is in the Modules area of the course. The course navigation menu includes links to the Syllabus and to Modules.

HELPING STUDENTS ACCESS YOUR CANVAS COURSE

Direct students to log in using either the link in their Coast Canvas home page, coastdistrict.instructure.com (no “www”).
NOTE: Students will log in to Canvas with the same login information as their Student Portal.
Direct students who have problems logging into Canvas to the OCC IIC Support
Make students aware of the Canvas Support Hotline (844-603-4261) which is available to them (and you) 24/7. The contact information is listed under HELP on the global navigation..
See the Wait List Students page for important information you may need to know and want to impart to your students.

GENERAL TIPS AND TRICKS FOR INSTRUCTORS

Warning: The Reset Course button (in course Settings) will permanently delete all course content and render your course shell completely empty. Use with caution!
Conversation messages and announcements are not delivered unless the course is published. See more about communicating with students in Canvas.
Use 11:59 pm instead of 12:00 am to indicate a midnight end date. (12:00 am in the first minute of the specified date, not the end of the day.)

A printable version is available.