Troubleshooting access to your Canvas course (Instructors)

Description

You are unable to see or access a course in your Canvas Dashboard.

Environment

Mac, PC, and mobile app

Solution 

There are a few reasons a course may not appear in your Canvas Dashboard.

• What semester will the course be taught?

  • Current (through Summer 2026): Courses and instructors load to Canvas 8-weeks prior to an individual course’s start date.

  • Future (for Fall 2026 and beyond): All courses and instructors load to Canvas on the first day of priority registration for that term, which can be found on the University Academic Calendar. This updated time line provides instructors with earlier access to both Canvas and the Course Syllabus, allowing additional time for course and syllabus preparation. Instructors should follow guidance from their academic unit regarding use of the Course Syllabus.

    Please note: Student enrollment timing has not changed. Students will continue to be added to courses two weeks before the course start date. If you plan to merge multiple sections, please wait until at least one student is enrolled. 

• Are you listed as the instructor of record for the course in Course Offerings?

  • Courses for which you are listed as instructor of record will automatically appear in your Canvas account. Please contact your department admin for assistance if there is an error with your instructor of record status. 

• Are you trying to access a course that has ended?

  • Once a term ends, the courses associated with that term will no longer appear in your Canvas Dashboard. To locate a course from a past term, select the Courses link from the Canvas navigation menu (located between Dashboard and Calendar) and then select the All Courses link. Courses that have ended will appear in the Past Enrollments section.

Outcome: You should be able to access active courses for which you are listed as instructor.

Get Help from Canvas

• Live chat with Canvas support (Faculty) 

• Get 24-hours/7-days a week Canvas support  

  • Dial the Canvas Support Hotline number located under "Get Help" in the Canvas Global Navigation Menu 

  • Contact OIT at 740-593-1222 for questions related to logging in, test courses/manually created courses, or third-party tools (Panopto, VoiceThread, Inclusive Access, etc.) 

Get help from OIT

• Visit the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS) page to create a ticket 

• Visit the Canvas LMS Resources and Training page for available training 

Additional resources

• Canvas Basics Guide 

• Canvas Instructor Guide 

• Canvas Video Guide 

• Mobile Guides 

• Canvas Course Accessibility Checklist

• Canvas LMS Implementation updates

• Canvas Experts Corner Blog