Canvas FAQ for Employees/Faculty

​​​​Please follow these steps to log in to Canvas using your ctcLink login information.

1. Log in to Canvas (we suggest saving this link in your favorites)

2. Type your ctcLink ID in the first box: Example 202000222
   • If you haven't activated your ctcLink ID yet, follow the steps for How do students activate their ctcLink account?
3. Type your ctcLink ID password in the second box. 
   • Click the Reset Password link to retrieve or recreate your password.
4. Click Sign in.
   • This will take you to Canvas.

If you need assistance, please submit a request.

If Canvas seems slow or you can't login, go to Instructure Status to view status updates.

Your default email in Canvas is the same as your preferred email in ctcLink. However, you can add an additional email address if you do not want to use your existing email address or want to use an additional email for notifications. This is especially important for instructors who work at more than one college. For instructions, view How do I add an additional email address as a contact method in Canvas as an instructor?

The following articles may also be useful.

• How do I change my default email address in my user account as an instructor?
• How do I manage my Canvas notification settings as an instructor?
• How do I manage notifications for a single course as an instructor?

If you have any questions, or need assistance, please submit a request. 

For Canvas-specific questions, you can reach out to Canvas 24/7 Help Live Chat at Chat with Canvas Support (Faculty). 

All drops are handled by Enrollment Services.  Students are supposed to formally drop a course on their own.  Once a student drops, Enrollment Services then will process that request.  Enrollment Services completed the drop in ctcLink, which then puts them in inactive status in the course they dropped in Canvas.  You can see what inactive status means here and student access.  Students' names and history in the course need to stay in the course for up to 3 years legally. This process takes between 1-3 days.  eLearning is not part of the drop process and does not need to be notified of any drops as this is an automatic process in Canvas once Enrollment Services completes its part.  If you do not want to see inactive students in your grade book, you can edit your viewing list to exclude these sets of students. 

If you receive an error code or warning while trying to access Zoom inside the Canvas course, it is likely because you need update the default email in Canvas to your faculty email associated with your Zoom account. This can be problematic for associate faculty who work at multiple colleges. The error code will look like this below.

After you update your default email address in Canvas, close all browser tabs and clear cache and cookies. For instructions on how to update your default email address in Canvas, please view How do I change my default email address in my user account as an instructor?

Currently, Canvas does not allow faculty to add people to their live or manually-created courses as schools have different ways to make sure that FERPA, Title IX, and Security issues are handled in a way that they need to proactively.  This protects students and faculty.  When an instructor needs a user added to a course, they will need to submit a Request to Add Users to a Canvas Course form and fill out the needed information. 

If you are looking to create a Canvas Shell course for any reason, follow these steps:

1. Log into Canvas.
2. On your Dashboard, look on the right side and below "Recent Feedback" you will see the button labeled "Start A New Course."
3. A pop-up window will appear. Add your "New Course" name.  You will not be able to change this name in the future, however, you can always reach out and ask eLearning Services to edit it for you.  
4. When you are naming your course, please do not add a course number.  We want to make sure that live courses have unique names that have that identifying course number on it.  When making a course, we suggest added "Practice Course", "Sandbox Course", "Shell", or something else that identifies that it is not an actual live course. 
5. We suggest keeping your course "Private, Copyrighted" unless you are developing OER content.
6. Click "Create Course."

Refer to this official Canvas Support article as needed: How Do I Create A New Course from the Dashboard As An Instructor?

Note: Contact your classroomsupportservices@shoreline.edu if you need to request a zoom account to be created for you shoreline employee email.

1. Log into your Zoom account.
2. In the same browser, log into your Canvas account.
3. In Canvas, open the course where you want to add Zoom.
4. In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.
5. Click the Navigation tab.
6. In the list of course navigation menu options, select the Zoom option.
7. Click the Options icon and select the Enable option.
8. Click the Save button. View the Zoom link in Course Navigation. Note: When accessing Zoom for the first time in the course navigation, you may need to click the Authorize button to proceed.

Zoom provides us with the flexibility of meeting people wherever they are, opening up even more opportunities to meet. Zoom is completely integrated with Canvas, which means you can schedule and join class Zoom meetings directly through your Canvas course. There is also now an Appointments feature in Zoom. This will make scheduling office hours even easier with your students. Instructors create appointments based on a schedule, students book their time slot, and then you all join your scheduled appointments all directly in your Canvas course!

If it’s not already enabled, add Zoom Pro to your Canvas course through Settings > Navigation.

Instructor Creates Scheduled Appointments

Once you have your schedule figured out, go to the Zoom Pro tool in your Canvas course:

1. Select Appointments at the top of the page
2. Click the + Create Schedule button
3. Select days included in this schedule. If the same hours will be applied each day, check “Follow the same schedule each day.”
4. Enter start and end times
5. Check End repeat on and select your date from the calendar (e.g., last day of classes)
6. Set the Duration of appointment slots
7. Enter the Event Name (e.g., Office Hours)
8. You can enter an Event Description if needed and then click on Create

Note that you cannot make modifications to a specific date within a schedule and you cannot block a specific appointment slot to prevent students from signing up. If you will not hold office hours on a particular date within your schedule, it is best to create two scheduled blocks — one prior to that date and another after that date. For example, let’s say you hold office hours on Thursdays during Fall 2023 but will need to skip Thursday, October 19 as it falls during Fall Break. Your first schedule would be from August 24-October 12 and your second would be October 26-November 30.

Student Books Appointment

Once your schedule is posted, students can click on the Appointments tab to see your schedules and sign up for an appointment. They simply need to select a time slot and Book from the pop-up window. You and the student will then receive an email with confirmation and details on joining the Zoom meeting. You can also check the Appointments tab > Upcoming Events to see your booked appointments.

Join Zoom Meeting

When it’s time to join the Zoom meeting, navigate back to the Appointments tab in the Zoom Pro tool and to the Upcoming Events. Click the Start button for your upcoming meeting. Your students will be able to join their booked meetings from this page as well.

Due to FERPA regulations, we cannot add anyone to your live or past live course(s) other than students who are officially enrolled in the course or the faculty member(s) that are listed on the class schedule.  If you are a faculty member that wants to share your Canvas course materials, you have two options. 

1. You can export your Canvas course and share the file with anyone you want.  When you export a course, you are only exporting the material in the class, no student information is copied. Then the person with whom you shared your information can then import that content into Canvas.  

Or

2. You can create a course shell and then request us to add any Shoreline Community College employee to that course shell.  

To copy content from another Canvas course by follow the instructions in this Canvas Instructor Guide, How do I copy content from another Canvas course using the Course Import tool?

For more help with Canvas, view Canvas Instructor Guides. 

For more information on Canvas Rubrics, view Canvas Instructor Guides, What are Rubrics? and How do I add a rubric to an assignment?

We are happy to support our students who request to have their Preferred Name in Canvas. Once changed, you will see them in your grade book, discussions, etc. using this Preferred Name. However, their name on your ctcLink roster will still show their “official” name for college records. 

In order to help you keep this information handy, we suggest that you add a Notes column in your Canvas gradebook where this information can be stored. Here are directions on how to add and use the Notes column.

Students marked as "inactive" in Canvas are those who have registered for your class but have since dropped or been dropped, with the following caveats: 

• It does not reflect all students who have dropped your class.  It will reflect only students who have dropped after the 5th instructional day of the quarter as that information may be needed for financial aid purposes.
• These "inactive" students will NOT show on ctcLink roster, which is the official class roster.  
• Students who have dropped your class during the withdrawal period of the quarter will show on the Canvas People page as inactive and also will show on ctcLink roster with a "W" grade. 
• Inactive students do not show by default in your Canvas grade book.  You can display them by going to Grades > click on the Gear (upper right) > show inactive enrollments.
• Previously submitted assignments from inactive students can be accessed both in Assignments and SpeedGrader.
• Inactive students in your Canvas class cannot:
  • View grades or receive any notifications about assignment comments. 
  • Access Canvas course content.  
  • View the name of your class in their Canvas Courses list or see a 
    course card in the Canvas Dashboard. 
  • Be sent or receive messages through any messaging option in Canvas. 
  • Be added to any groups in a course. If the student was 
    already in a group when he or she was deactivated, the student no longer has access 
    to the group; other students in the group cannot view inactive students in the group 
    People page. 

For information on how to use the syllabus in Canvas, view How do I use the Syllabus as an instructor? in Canvas Instructor Guides.

For more information view Canvas Instructor Guide, How do I view a course as a test student using Student View? 

CtcLink is Shoreline's self-service portal which allows you to manage your college business online, including enrolling in classes, checking your financial records and aid, paying tuition, viewing unofficial transcripts, and more. You will use your ctcLink ID and password to log into ctcLink and Canvas.

To log into all other online resources, you will use your Shoreline Network Account username and password. Your Shoreline Network Account username will contain @go.shoreline.edu if you are a student, and @shoreline.edu if you are a Shoreline employee.

You will use your Shoreline Network Account credentials to log into on-campus and online systems, including:

• Ray Howard Library online resources
• Starfish (Shoreline's advising portal)
• LinkedIn Learning (an Online Education Platform)
• On campus Wi-Fi
• On campus computers
• Communication Preferences/RAVE
• Accessible Information Management (AIM) for Student Accessibility Services
• Your optional Shoreline email account (for students)
• Office365/Teams/SharePoint (for employees)

For more information about when to use your ctcLink ID to log in versus when to use your Shoreline Network Account, view the Student Accounts page on our website.

For Current Instructors Who are the Original Owners of a Canvas Course

If the course in question has any student information in it there are two ways to give access or a copy of your course to that other person without letting that person see any FERPA-protected information.

1) You can create a Shell course, copy over your course content, request to add a user to your course, and take yourself out of the course if you choose to leave.  
2) You can create a course export package and email that to IMSCC file to the person you want to share it with.  Then that person can create a course shell and then import your course content. 

For Former Instructors Who Want to Share their Canvas Course

Please Provide Permission to Copy a Canvas Course. 

For Instructors Who Want Access to a Former Instructor's Canvas Course

If you are not the owner of the original course that needs to be copied, please send the original owner this form to fill out; Provide Permission to Copy a Canvas Course.   We are not allowed to share courses without the original owner's permission.