Canvas FAQs
- What is the launch date?
- Why did UTSA select the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS)?
- What should I tell my students?
- Will UTSA use both Blackboard and Canvas at the same time?
- What makes Canvas better?
Training & Support Questions
- Who do I contact for Canvas questions?
- What training and resources are available for faculty?
- What support is available for students?
Technical Questions
- How do I login to Canvas?
- Do I need to move all my content to Canvas?
- What browsers or tech requirements are needed for Canvas?
- Can I request a Canvas sandbox to start exploring the new LMS?
- Will current tools and integrations continue to be available in Canvas?
- What digital tools and integrations are currently available in Canvas?
- How will Incomplete (IN) grades work this academic year?
- What does this mean for my existing Blackboard courses?
Questions about the Student & Faculty Experience
All UTSA courses will be offered exclusively on Canvas beginning Fall 2023. Summer 2023 will be the final semester that courses are conducted using Blackboard Learn.
Why did UTSA select the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS)?
The feature set and lack of scalability in the legacy LMS does not match UTSA’s forward momentum. The evaluation process considered the growing Canvas community – within local school districts and community colleges and, notably, that transfer students make up 40% of UTSA’s undergraduate population. Finally, faculty and student LMS satisfaction remained largely unchanged over the course of the pandemic due to a lack of significant updates and feature releases since 2012.
What should I tell my students?
A special student-focused online training program will launch in Summer 2023. Students will be able to earn a badge as part of this training. The badge will act as a signal that the student has received the fundamental information they need to maximize the features of the Canvas LMS.
Will UTSA use both Blackboard and Canvas at the same time?
No, all courses that begin in Fall 2023 will be offered exclusively through Canvas. Courses for the Fall 2023 semester and beyond will not be populated in Blackboard.
Canvas will bring new features that meet the requirements requested by faculty and students. Canvas is mobile-friendly with top-rated apps for iOS and Android. Improved course management will make creating content, grading and tracking student progress faster and easier. Many digital tools have improved integration and enhanced features when paired with Canvas.
Training & Support Questions
Who do I contact for Canvas questions?
Canvas 24/7 support is available to help answer your Canvas questions.
- Canvas Support Hotline: (210) 458-4520; option 4
- Report a Problem: From the ‘Help’ menu in Canvas
- Chat with Canvas Support: From the ‘Help’ menu in Canvas
For other Canvas inquires or questions related to digital tools or content stored in Blackboard, please email Canvas@utsa.edu. A member of the UTSA project team will respond to you as soon as possible.
What training and resources are available to me?
Academic Innovation offers many opportunities for faculty to learn about Canvas, including:
- Open walk-in hours – Available on the UTSA main campus at the Academic Innovation Center. Join us in the Multidisciplinary Studies Building (MS 240) during our listed open hours.
- Hybrid workshops – Register for a workshop led by Academic Innovation. Join us in-person or online as we cover a variety of Canvas features, concepts and best practices.
- One-on-one consultations – Meet with a Canvas expert from the Academic Innovation team. Use our online bookings form to register.
- Self-paced course – All faculty are automatically enrolled in the Be Bold with Canvas self-paced online course. This training helps faculty explore Canvas tools, options and features.
- Canvas facilitated workshops – Canvas offers a calendar of live and self-paced workshops through the Canvas training portal. Access the portal from the ‘Help’ menu in Canvas.
What support is available for students?
Students have access to Canvas 24/7 support to help answer their Canvas Questions.
- Canvas Support Hotline: (210) 458-4520; option 4
- Report a Problem: From the Help menu in Canvas
- Chat with Canvas Support: From the Help menu in Canvas
For other Canvas inquires or questions related to digital tools, please email Canvas@utsa.edu. A member of the UTSA project team will respond to you as soon as possible.
Technical Questions
The link to Canvas can always be found on the my.UTSA webpage. Alternatively, you can go directly to https://utsa.instructure.com/ to log in.
Do I need to move all my content to Canvas?
No. Courses delivered using Blackboard during the following semesters will be automatically migrated to Canvas:
- Spring 2021
- Summer 2021
- Fall 2021
- Spring 2022
- Summer 2022
- Fall 2022
- Spring 2023 (available Summer 2023)
If you would like to migrate a non-academic course or an academic course not included in the semesters listed above, please complete a Course Request Form.
The Course Request Form can also be found in Canvas. Log in to your Canvas account and select the ‘Help’ menu to find the Course Request Form.
Faculty may also manually export their course from Blackboard and import it into Canvas. For instructions, please review the How to Export and Import into Canvas video.
What browsers or tech requirements are needed for Canvas?
Canvas is web-based and compatible with:
Desktop Browsers
- Chrome 106 and 107
- Firefox 105 and 106
- Edge 106 and 107
- Safari 15 and 16
Mobile Browsers
- Latest version of Safari (iOS) and Chrome (Android)
Canvas Mobile Apps
- Android 8.0 or later
- iOS 14.0 or later
Can I request a Canvas sandbox to start exploring the new LMS?
All faculty have an automatically generated Canvas ‘sandbox.’ The sandbox is a private and empty Canvas course where an instructor can practice with tools or test new items without impacting a live course.
If you would like an additional sandbox for Canvas, please use the Course Request Form.
Will current tools and integrations continue to be available in Canvas?
Yes! The Canvas+Migration Team will transfer all current digital tools and third-party integrations to Canvas. However, three tools will no longer be available, beginning in Fall 2023: Blackboard, Blackboard Collaborate and SafeAssign.
What digital tools and integrations are currently available in Canvas?
Find the fully-updated list of integrated tools on this webpage.
How will Incomplete (IN) grades work this academic year?
The Academic Innovation Service Desk receives a report of all courses with Incomplete (IN) grades entered into ASAP after every semester. We use this list to grant extended course access to students to complete their course work. Our team will automatically send an email to each instructor listed when the course access begins. If you'd like this process to be completed more quickly, please complete the Extended Access form.
Current incompletes can be worked on in Blackboard until August 20, 2023. If an Incomplete (IN) is still pending by this date, the following process will take place:
- The student will be enrolled in a current Canvas section of the incomplete course.
- If there is not a current Canvas section of the incomplete course, the student and instructor will be enrolled in a new copy of the incomplete course. The Academic Innovation team will work with the instructor to ensure the Canvas course is accessible to the student.
For questions about this process, please email Canvas@utsa.edu. For more information about incomplete (IN) grades and requirements, visit the OneStop Grades web page.
What does this mean for my existing Blackboard courses?
- Blackboard courses from Spring 2021 through Spring 2023 will be migrated to Canvas.
- Blackboard courses from Fall 2020 to Spring 2018 will be archived in a read-only state.
- Faculty will continue to have access to Blackboard and past course content until August 31, 2024.
