This document outlines the different avenues that students can take to find Due Dates, To-Do Dates, and Availability Dates in Canvas and explains the differences between these dates.
Note: Not all of these dates will be available in all courses. Instructors must set dates in Canvas in order to be visible and/or apply. If you are not finding these dates in Canvas, check the course’s syllabus or contact your instructor.
Due Dates
Due Dates are the dates on which an assignment, quiz, or graded discussion falls due, for example, an essay for a class might be due by Aug. 14th at 3PM. If the instructor has not set availability dates, you may be able to submit the activity passed the due date. Note that Canvas will notify instructors about late submissions and some instructors might have late submission policies.
To-Do Dates
To-Do Dates are similar to the Due Dates, but they are assigned to Ungraded Discussions or Pages. For example, an instructor might create a list of readings in a Page an add it to their students' To-Do list for them to read the texts before the following class. The To-Do dates act as reminders to students of the tasks required, they might or might not be associated with a grade.
Availability Dates (Assignments, Quizzes, and Graded Discussions Only)
In addition to Due Dates and To-Do Dates, instructors have the option to limit the availability of the assignments (Assignments, Quizzes, and Graded Discussions), meaning that they can limit when students can submit work in Canvas. The three availability options for any assignment are:
- Available. Available assignments are open for submissions.
- Unavailable (locked). Unavailable or locked assignments are those that will become available at a future date.
- Closed. Closed assignments no longer accept submissions; the availability has passed.
Always check if the activity has availability dates and make sure to complete the activity within the established availability. If there are no availability dates, you may still submit an activity past the due date. However, note that Canvas will notify instructors when an activity has been submitted late.
Typically, assignments such as quizzes, assignments, or graded discussions should have a Due Date and some ungraded discussions or Pages might have a To-Do Date. In some cases, instructors might choose to enter these dates in Canvas. When these dates in Canvas is set, they will appear in any (or all) of these places:
- Dashboard's To Do Section
- Canvas Calendar
- Course's Homepage Sidebar
- Canvas Syllabus Course Summary
- Assignments Index Page
- Modules Index Page
- Assignment's page (Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions)
Dashboard's To Do Section
Here you will find all of your courses' graded and ungraded assignments, events, and announcements that are coming up. This sidebar helps you see what you need to do next and what feedback you've received across all your courses. The To Do section shows up to seven items with due dates or event dates in the upcoming weeks, including ungraded quizzes, assignments that do not require a Canvas submission, and course announcements. Each item in the To Do list displays the assignment name, the course name, the number of points, and the due date for the assignment. If an item has not been submitted via Canvas and its due date has passed, graded items will remain in this section for four weeks. Ungraded items will disappear from the To Do list as soon as the due date passes. You may click the X to the right of an item to manually delete it from the To Do list.
Canvas Calendar
In the Canvas Calendar you can view everything (graded and ungraded) you have to do for all your courses in one place. You can view calendar events by day, week, month, or agenda list. You can access the Calendar through the Global Navigation Menu or on any course's homepage. More information about using the Canvas Calendar can be found here.
Course's Homepage Sidebar
Similarly to the Dashboard's To Do List, here you will find the course-specific graded and ungraded assignments, events, and announcements that are coming up. This sidebar helps you see what you need to do next for the specific course and what feedback you've received across all your courses. The To Do section shows up to seven items with due dates or event dates in the upcoming weeks, including ungraded quizzes, assignments that do not require a Canvas submission, and course announcements. Each item in the To Do list displays the assignment name, the course name, the number of points, and the due date for the assignment. If an item has not been submitted via Canvas and its due date has passed, graded items will remain in this section for four weeks. Ungraded items will disappear from the To Do list as soon as the due date passes. You may click the X to the right of an item to manually delete it from the To Do list.
Canvas Syllabus Course Summary
If the Syllabus link in the course navigation menu is enabled, you might be able to find a list of all due dates and To Do dates in the Canvas Syllabus Course Summary.
Note: Instructors might choose to hide this link from the Course Navigation Menu or they might make the Syllabus link available and hide the Course Summary. In those cases, please refer to the other venues in this page to locate due dates.
Assignments Index Page
If the Assignments link in the Course Navigation Menu is enabled, you will be able to see a list of all the course's graded assignments. Ungraded assignments will not be displayed. When available, underneath each assignment you will see the due date next to Due. By default, assignments are grouped by overdue assignments, upcoming assignments, undated assignments, and past assignments.
- Overdue Assignments: assignments and discussions that are past the due date, are still available, have not been submitted, and have not been graded.
- Upcoming Assignments: assignments, discussions, and quizzes that have an upcoming due date.
- Undated Assignments: assignments, discussions, and quizzes that do not have a due date.
- Past Assignments: assignments and discussions that are past the due date and either are not available, have been submitted, or have received a grade; quizzes that are past the due date.
Note: Instructors might choose to hide this link from the Course Navigation Menu. In those cases, please refer to the other venues on this page to locate due dates.
Modules Index Page
On the Modules Index Page, you can find the graded assignments' Due Dates and the ungraded assignments' To-Do Dates underneath each item's title. More information about the Modules Index Page can be found here.
Assignment Page (Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions)
When you click on an assignment, you will also be able to see its due date or to-do date. Here are the different locations of the due dates and To-Do dates depending on the content type.
Quizzes and Surveys
Due dates of quizzes or surveys might be located in the top left corner (Image 1) or on the bottom left side of the quiz page.
Image 1: Due Date in Quiz Option 1
Image 2: Due Date in Quiz Option 2
Assignments
Assignments' due dates can be found in the top left corner of the assignment's page.
Discussions
Discussions' due dates and to-do dates can be found in the top right corner of the discussion page.
Pages
To-Do Dates in Pages will be located in the top left side of the Page, underneath the Page's title.
When an instructor has set up Availability dates in assignments they can be found in the following places:
Assignments Index Page
If the Assignments link in the Course Navigation Menu is visible, you may find the availability in the Assignments Index Page displayed underneath the item's title. These are the possible labels displayed:
- Available until (date). When the assignment is available and open for submissions.
- Not Available Until (date). When an assignment is not yet available. The date displayed indicates when the assignment will open for submission.
- Closed. When the availability dates have passed and submissions will no longer be accepted.
When none of these labels are displayed in an assignment on the Assignments Index Page, it means that the assignment does not have availability dates.
Assignment Page (Assignments, Quizzes, and Discussions)
When clicking on an Assignment, Quiz, or Discussion, you will be able to see if the activity has an availability date. Depending on the type of activity, the availability information will be displayed in different sections of the page:
Assignments
Available Assignments
Assignments that are open for submission will display the availability dates right before the assignment's details. You will also be able to view the assignment's details and find a field to submit your work.
Unavailable Assignments (locked)
Assignments that are not yet open for submissions will hide the assignment's details and display a message indicating that the assignment is locked until a specific date. You will not be able to submit assignments but you will be able to send a comment about the assignment to your instructor.
Closed Assignments
When assignments are closed for submissions, the submission field will disappear and a message with the availability dates will be displayed. The availability dates will be displayed above the assignment's details. You will still be able to view the assignment's details and to add comments send a comment about the assignment to your instructor.
Quizzes
Available Quizzes
Quizzes that are open for completion will display the availability dates at the top right of the page. You will also be able to view the quiz' instructions and click on a button to take the quiz.
Unavailable Quizzes
Quizzes that are not yet open for completion will display the availability dates at the top right of the page. The quiz' instructions will be hidden and a message indicating that the quiz is locked until a specific date will be displayed. You will not be able to complete the quiz or read the instructions until the availability date.
Closed Quizzes
When quizzes are closed, the button to complete the quiz will disappear and a message indicating the cut-off date will be displayed at the bottom left of the page. The availability dates will be displayed at the top right of the page. You will still be able to view the quiz' instructions.
Discussions
Available Discussions
Discussions that are open for contribution will display the Reply button underneath the instructor's prompt. Available discussions will not display the availability dates.
Unavailable Discussions
Discussions that are not yet open for contribution will display a message indicating that the discussion is locked until a specific date. You will not be able to contribute to the discussion or read the prompt until the availability date.
Closed Discussions
When discussions are closed, the button to contribute to the discussion will disappear and a message indicating the cut-off date will be displayed at the bottom left of the page. You won't be able to contribute to the discussion but you will still be able to view the prompt.