Academic Term dates in Canvas

The University of Oxford traditionally operates using a termly calendar that starts with Noughth Week in Michaelmas Term and ends at Week 10 in Trinity Term. However, some parts of the University have alternative arrangements.

Courses in Canvas can be associated with two dates: the Academic Year refers to Teaching courses, and the Entry Term refers to Programme courses (which extend for the duration of a programme of study).

 

Index

  1. Academic Year: early October to early October in the following year
  2. Entry Term: early October to the required endpoint
  3. Customising course dates

1. Academic Year: early October to early October in the following year

This is intended for courses which are delivered within a typical academic year, i.e. 'Teaching' courses in Canvas. The 'term' appears alongside the course title in the format "2022-23 Academic year", for example.

Once the end date has passed, students can still access course materials, but will not be able to contribute to the course.  The course will no longer appear on the dashboard, but is accessible through the Global Navigation menu link named Courses. By clicking Courses followed by All courses and then Past Enrolments, you will find any outdated courses and all the material relating to them.

Note: The academic year dates are set and should suit most cases, but you may need to allow access on alternative dates, you can do this by overriding the default dates (using the instructions below). You should also bear in mind that, although a course, module or paper may be taught exclusively during Trinity or Hilary term, the "Term" setting in Canvas must be for the Academic Year.

2. Entry Term: early October until 'whenever'

This is intended for Canvas containers which provide support and information for a programme of study across its entire lifetime, i.e. 'Programme' courses in Canvas. The 'term' appears alongside the course title in the format "2022-23 Entry", for example. Such a course in Canvas will be 'live' from the entry date, without any end date. The purpose is for students in a 3-, 4-, 5-year (or whatever length) programme of study to be able to access relevant programme materials and activities over the life of the entire programme. (This is a requirement according to University policy.)

Note: Each new entry year will require a new Canvas container (rolled over from the previous one). As a result, administrators and academics may accumulate many 'Entry' courses on their Dashboard (since they have no end date). To remove those Entry courses that are completely in the past, you can specify an End date (see below), after which they will moved into your Past Enrolments.

3. Customising course dates

Term dates are specified by default in Canvas (behind the scenes), and cannot be changed. Course dates can be updated by course administrators and teachers in the course Settings tab as shown below:

  • In the Participation drop-down box, select Course.
  • Select the Start and End dates for your course.
  • Scroll down and click the blue Update course details button to save your changes. 

 

Be sure to include both a start and end date if customising term dates. Failure to do this may result in students not being able to access materials as you require.