Start of Semester Checklist

To ensure your Canvas course(s) are ready on the first day of class, here are a few things you should double check!

Copy your Course

You can copy your course to your new course shell (no need to rebuild everything from scratch). After you copy it over you can make any necessary adjustments / changes.

Give you students a good start - add a course tutorial

Ensure your Canvas course(s) are ready on the first day of class, here are a few things you should double check! Remember we have a Canvas Tutorial that you can share with students to prepare for the semester.

You can add this tutorial directly to your course by clicking on "Commons" on the left navigation, then type "Cuesta College course tutorial" in the search bar. On the right side click the blue "Import/Download" button, then place a check mark next to the course you want, scroll to the bottom and click "Import".

Students will earn a badge and you can ask them to share it with you to confirm completion, we have awarded over 100 badges already and hope to award more!

Publish your course

Students can't access a course until the Instructor publishes it. Even if it's the first day of class students will not be able to access a course that isn't published. Publishing your course does not mean all of your course content is published. You will still need to make sure all Modules and content items are published also!
Check your course start date

When your course is created the course start and end dates are automatically populated. Instructors do not have the ability to manually adjust their course start and end dates on their own. Note: Students will not be able to submit any assignments before or after these dates! (Contact your Dean for more information) You may give students viewing access by changing one setting; then students will be able view the course, and course content. You can change this behavior by editing this in settings:
- Click Settings in the navigation bar, then under the course details tab uncheck the box that says "Restrict students from viewing the course before the Start date"
- DO NOT uncheck the option for "Student can only participate between these dates", if you course has a start or end date outside of the normal term this will prevent you from being able to set due dates or allow students to access your course.

Remove unnecessary Navigational Links

Navigational links are the links on the left side of your course page. If you leave too many of them visible to your students, you run the risk of students becoming confused, or skipping your course content from the Modules and going straight to their quizzes or discussions. Remove any navigation links you are not using or that you don’t want students to access directly.

Email your students

After you have checked all the course settings and your course has been published; you can use the Conversations (inbox) in Canvas to send your students a welcome message and invite them to your course, remind them of the materials they need to obtain prior to the first day of class, etc. Make sure to check the box "Send an individual message to each recipient", if you don't students will be included in a conversation thread where they can reply to the entire class.

Enable Pronto

Pronto is a great way tool for communication in your classes, both directly through direct (one-one) messages and whole class streams. You can use it to send quick reminders, live stream video announcements that you be immediately view on your phone or desktop. Do it yourself by copy and pasting this link into a web browser (https://canvas-75.canvas.pronto.io (do not click on it directly)).

If you need help enabling - check out these instructions for assistance: https://support.pronto.io/en/articles/3966061-pronto-course-management.

If you have questions or need assistance, please reach out! Email DeFaculty_Support@cuesta.edu, visit open lab or request an appointment below.

Favorite your Course

In order for it to show on your dashboard. You can do this by clicking on the"Courses"link in the side navigation, then click"All Courses", then click the star next to the course name to favorite it. Then click back on your dashboard navigation and you should see your course. (see screenshot below).

You might also need to change your dashboard view to card view by clicking the three dots in the upper right hand corner of your dashboard to view the drop down list. (see screenshot below)

You might want to tell your student about this as well so they are able to see your course.

Purchase Course Materials
Allow students to purchase course materials directly from the Cuesta College Bookstore directly from your course. You will see the "Purchase Course Materials" link in your course navigation. Student may click this link, and be directed to the campus bookstore. This option is not intended for ebooks or deep integration of publisher materials. Use the link above to get more details, and a handy handout to provide your students.
Inclusive Access Courses
If your course will have first day access to your digital materials (ebooks or deep integration of publisher materials), you will need to ensure to add the "Course Materials (First Day Access)" link to your course. Use the link above to get more detailed instructions on how to set up Inclusive Access, and important messages you can provide to your students.