WSU Canvas Catalog Use Guidelines

The following acceptable use document was created to protect the limited licenses and core functions of the WSU Canvas Catalog and to ensure that administrators can provide a secure and stable system for students and faculty.

Acceptable Use of Canvas Catalog 

Academic courses 

  • All CRN-based courses are hosted in the academic instance of Canvas. For more information please view our Canvas Use Guidelines.
  • Weber Catalog courses should be used for self-enrollment in student training, community education, and other non-banner/non-credit courses across departments, universities, and continuing education. These courses will be hosted in the Weber Catalog instance of Canvas.

Sandbox courses

Sandbox courses are non-enrollment courses used for testing, content development, or trying out new features in Canvas.

  • Sandbox courses are intended solely for testing, course content development, and template creation. These sandboxes are housed in the academic instance of Canvas and are not designed for live course delivery or pilot programs with student enrollment.

  • Sandboxes are not typically necessary within Canvas Catalog since the Catalog instance supports ongoing course development at any time. However, template courses and development sandboxes may be provided upon request for users who need dedicated space for extended content development. Course listings in Canvas Catalog should only be published when the course is fully developed and ready for use.

Non-credit courses

Non-credit courses are courses that do not offer academic credit but are used for training, continuing education, or personal development.

  • Non-credit academic courses that do not need Banner CRNs can be requested through the Canvas Course Request form.
  • If a non-credit course needs to appear in Banner, those CRNs may be requested through the Division of Online & Continuing Education and will be hosted in WSU’s academic instance of Canvas.

Catalog Course Storage

  • Each course is allocated 1 GB of storage for course content and development. Assignment submissions do not count against this quota.
  • Archived courses are stored in a read-only mode to help stay within storage quotas. For ongoing course management, use an external file storage system like Google Drive, Box, or OneDrive to host large files, and link to them directly in your Canvas course.
  • The integrated Media tool in Canvas supports files up to 500 MB. Bulk uploads are limited to 50 files at a time. Refer to the Canvas File Quotas Guide for more details.
  • Course export packages must be smaller than the storage quota of 1 GB to be successfully imported.
  • Instructors are encouraged to monitor their Course Settings regularly and to clean up unnecessary files, discussions, and media at the end of each term.

User accounts in Canvas

  • All students and faculty with an active WSU login will have access to Canvas Catalog.
  • Non-WSU users will be granted access to Canvas Catalog for the duration of their courses.
  • Nicknames are not allowed -- your name will appear on certificates and WSU cannot verify completion if your name does not match your record.
  • Please choose an appropriate profile picture to represent yourself. WSU reserves the right to remove pictures that are not appropriate for a classroom setting.
  • Active Faculty accounts are marked as Instructors and student accounts are marked as Learners in the Canvas account permissions. A student account should not be granted Instructor permissions in any course unless they are assigned to teach a course.
  • Each user account is given 50 MB of personal storage for profile pictures and discussion content. Assignment submissions and course content do not count against this quota.

Canvas Bulletins, Calendars, and Announcements 

  • Global system announcements and calendar events are restricted to issues related to the Canvas LMS, its integrations, and emergencies that affect student, faculty, or staff wellbeing. We pride ourselves on providing an ad-free experience so students can access their course content without interference.
  • Global announcements and calendar events are restricted in length to 3-4 sentences and may include links to additional resources.
  • All announcements must be approved by the LMS administrators to ensure content is relevant, appropriate, and aligned with WSU policies.
  • Announcements and events must only contain text and screenshots (no banners, images, gifs, etc.). Text may be stylized (bolded, italicized, etc.) but the universal font in Canvas is required.

Data Requests

The data housed within the LMS is owned by the users who interact with the system.

  • Users with protected data include students, faculty, and administration.
  • The data housed within the Canvas LMS is subject to privacy laws such as FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act). Sensitive student and faculty data must be handled carefully in accordance with university policies.
  • Accessing sensitive data requires several levels of approval. Any requests for LMS data should be submitted through the appropriate channels, such as the Office of Student Success Analytics or Chief Data Officer, in compliance with university policies and privacy regulations, including FERPA.

Common requests that are NOT within the Scope of Canvas Catalog

Faculty / Staff Training and Development

As of 12/11/2020, Human Resources and IT procured a faculty and staff training platform named Bridge. New faculty and staff training workshops will no longer be hosted in Canvas. 

Advertising / Marketing 

WSU's instances of the Canvas learning management system are not set up for marketing products or services. Individual instructors and program coordinators can create course announcements for their students about course-related events.

Academic Program Information

Basic information about a program including resources, tracks, requirements, events, etc. can be listed on a University website.

Student Clubs and Academic Groups

Student-run clubs, academic groups, and events work better in a forum/discussion-focused setting. Try using Canvas Free-for-Teachers, Discord, or similar collaboration tools.

Record keeping

Past courses are stored in Canvas in a read-only state to preserve records for future reference. Instructors are strongly encouraged to back up course data regularly, especially as data storage limits may affect the retention period for individual courses. Long-term archival of important files should be done using cloud storage solutions like Google Drive or Box.

* Guidelines Last Updated: September 20, 2024 *