Topics Map > Canvas
Canvas - How to Extend an Individual Student's Access to Your Course
Instructors can grant students extended access to a Canvas course without changing the course’s Start and End dates or Participation settings. This guide covers how to:
- Use the Extend Student Access Tool
- Confirm You've Setup Extensions Correctly
- Adjust or Rescind Extensions
Incomplete Policy
The Registrar's Office "Incomplete Grade Lapse" policy clarifies that only certain classes qualify to grant Incomplete (I) grades. Also, students granted an Incomplete (I) should be able to "complete the course successfully without again attending regular class sessions or needing extensive instructor supervision."
Please reach out to registrar@uwsuper.edu if you have any questions.
How to Use the Extend Student Access Tool
The Extend Student Access tool is available in any Canvas class listed on the UW-Superior Class Schedule.
Open the Extend Student Access Tool
Click the Extend Student Access button on the top right of the course homepage to open it.
The location of this button will vary depending on the width of your browser. The tool will be listed near the bottom of your Canvas window if your browser window is narrow, and at the top-right of a wide browser window.
Fill out the Form
Clicking this button will open the Extend Student Access form, which includes “User”, “End Date”, and “Reason for Incomplete” fields:
- User: Enter the username or first and last names of the student. (You can enter multiple students at once.)
- End Date: Enter the date you’d like the listed student (or students’) extended access to end. You can choose any date up until the “maximum extension” date listed at the top of the form. If you need to extend the student’s access past that maximum extension date, please email canvas@uwsuper.edu.
- Reason for Incomplete: Enter some notes that explain why you’re extending access.
When you’ve filled out the form, click the Extend Access button.
How to Confirm You’ve Extended the Student’s Access
Once you’ve clicked the Extend Access button, the tool will create a new Canvas section in your course with the requested end date, and then enroll the selected students in that section. Canvas sections help subdivide students within a course and are listed on the course’s Settings page.
Students should then be able to access the course in Canvas. In some circumstances, the course will be removed from the student’s Dashboard, so the student will need to access it from their All Courses page (under the “Past Enrollments” section).
The Extend Student Access tool extends a student’s access to the course, but it doesn't update assignment due dates or availability dates. Instructors who use assignment due dates or availability dates may need to adjust them for the students granted extended access.
Don't extend student access more than once!
Don’t use the tool a second time to adjust a student’s existing extended access. Each time you use the tool for the same student it will create a new section in your course, with the same name, and you won’t be able to clean up these duplicate sections.
If you need to extend a student's access past the original end date you selected, open the Settings > Sections page and adjust the student's extension there. The next section of this guide describes that process in more detail.
How to Adjust or Rescind Extended Access
If you need to grant a student additional time in the course after using the Extend Student Access tool—or you need to end that access sooner than expected—open your course Settings > Sections page and adjust the Extend - [Student’s Name]
section there. You can edit the existing end date and configure an updated one.
- Click Settings in your course Navigation menu.
- Click the Sections tab along the top of the screen.
- Click the link indicating the section you’d like to adjust.
- Click the Edit Section button.
- Double-click in the Ends text-entry box and enter a new date of your choosing.
- Click the Update Section button.