Should Canvas Pages be Required?

Reported By: Shelby McCormick

Photographed By: Yolanda Diaz

It's the week leading up to the new semester. If you're a type A personality like myself, you are constantly checking Canvas to see if your classes have been published. As they pop up, you scan the syllabus and course description so you can mentally prepare for what you are about to enter. Dread creeps in as one class' page is not published. Nine times out of ten, this dread is met with relief, as after the first class meeting, the professor publishes it, averting a crisis. But every now and again, there is that one class that never comes.

I will concede that Canvas is not the end all be all of education; there are plenty of other ways students outside of the U.S. or all those who came before us have succeeded without it. However, in this day and age of online learning, taking a course without it is challenging and confusing. 

When I say that student success often goes downhill without Canvas, I speak from a uniquely personal experience. I studied abroad in Rome for a semester in a small program of 12 students, and we all took classes together with some Italian and some American professors. Most of us were excellent students, straight A's, and generally very successful in academics, but we collectively struggled here.

Keeping track of assignments and expectations with only word of mouth, or the occasional handout or email, left us confused. Additionally, we had no time to shift gears if we weren't doing well because we did not know what our grades were until the end. We did, eventually, learn how to manage, but it was because we had no choice, as all our classes were that way, and it was not without many tears and difficult conversations. 

We also only had school to focus on, as studying abroad eliminates other obligations such as work or extracurricular activities. If I had been in this situation with my normal level of obligations, I would have been completely drowning.

Understandably, not having a Canvas page may be the professor's preference, especially if they have been in the game for a while, but having one also benefits them. Having clear documentation of the students’ grades that they can access protects them from claims of giving unfair or biased grades. With a Canvas page, you can have clear evidence that the student had access to the information needed to prevent any miscommunication when issues arise. A Canvas page assists in proper communication and prevents misunderstandings.

With student success and safeguards against confusion with professors in mind, it should be the policy for every class to have a Canvas page that is used and updated. This is already common practice, but having a clear and cohesive policy would encourage an environment where students can go into every class with a baseline expectation for how communication and grades will be handled.