Canvas Course Templates
The Digital Learning Department has created Canvas course templates to help you build effective online, face-to-face, and hybrid courses. These templates include best-practice design elements that support student success, along with resources to help you get started in Canvas. Our template options are fully accessible and aligned with Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and WCAG 2.2 Web Accessibility Standards. Both versions can be easily personalized to fit your specific instructional needs.
Template Features: Built to Streamline Faculty Effort & Support Student Success
Ready-to-Use Course Structure - Grounded in Best Practices
Skip the guesswork and the build time - research-informed course design is already
in place as a starting point, so student success is built into the framework from
day one.
- Editable "Welcome to the Course" home page
- Template Guide explaining how to use the template and what's included
- General course information placeholders (syllabus info, policies, etc.)
- Fifteen customizable modules - delete what you don't need
Built-In Student Support Resources - Ready to Go, Fully Editable
Support tools and resources are already embedded as a starting point, saving you the
time of building them from scratch. You can use them as-is or adjust to fit your course.
- Links to key student resources (tutoring, advising, tech help, etc.)
- "Set Up Canvas Notifications/Preferences" assignment to help students manage the course
- Attendance Verification Quiz to support required attendance verification and early engagement tracking
Engagement & Learning Reflection Tools - Pre-Built Ideas, Yours to Adapt
These are sample activities, not fixed requirements. You can use them as-is, tweak
the prompts, or swap in your own approach without starting from a blank page.
- "Introduce Yourself" discussion forum with engaging prompt options
- Muddiest Point reflection assignments to surface student understanding
- Sample exam wrappers to build metacognitive skills
These templates are available within Canvas Commons.
Please note, you must be logged into Canvas to access Canvas Commons resource links below. (See the Canvas Guide: )
- - Best for faculty teaching online asynchronous and synchronous courses.
- - For faculty teaching face-to-face and hybrid courses.
Have questions or need assistance? Contact your Instructional Designer.