Summary
In Canvas, instructors are permitted to combine course sections using the cross-listing tool. For more information on how to combine Canvas courses, including information on cross-listing and student privacy (FERPA), read Limited Section Privileges in Combined Canvas Shells. Instructors who wish to have sections combined for them should reach out to cirtlab@unf.edu.
How Course Combining Works
In Canvas, the native cross-listing tool works by moving the course enrollment information, both student and instructor, from one course section into another, thus allowing multiple course sections to use the same Canvas shell.
What Happens When Separating Sections
When you separate a section from a combined course the enrollment is immediately added back to its original course shell. This means any content, student activity, and grades that were in the course before it was combined will be available. This does not mean that any content, student activity, and grades from the combined section will be “copied” into it. Furthermore, any activity and grades from the removed section will no longer be available in the combined course but will return if the section is re-combined.
Important Information
- The term “cross-listing” refers to courses that are coupled in on the UNF Schedule. The term “combining” refers to sections that are coupled in Canvas, though not officially cross-listed.
- Per UNF policy, undergraduate and graduate courses can only be cross-level listed if they meet the particular criteria detailed in the policy. CIRT will not fulfill any requests to manually combine undergraduate with graduate courses. Courses that are approved to be cross-level listed on the schedule will be combined by default.
- Instructors who wish to combine sections manually should review this article on course combining in regard to The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
- When a course is combined into another, it will no longer appear on your Courses list.
- When a section is separated from a combined course it will appear in your Courses list as it was before the combining occurred.
- No content, student activity, or grades are deleted when combining or separating courses. If any information is no longer available due to combining or separating, simply doing the opposite function will restore access to the information.
- To combine sections, you must be in the course you want to add to the other course to. This becomes important to remember if you setup the course content in only one section, as it will be the one the others are combined into.
- When a course is combined with another, you will no longer be able to access that course and only the combined course.
- When a section is separated from a combined course, it will restore the original course it was combined from. This means any content and activity that was in the course prior to being combined will be available, but none of the content or activity that was in the combined course will be.
- Before being able to combine a course you will need to be an instructor in the course you want to add it to.
