Policy: Course Lifecycle

Students: you have access to Canvas courses during the enrolled semester plus three weeks into the following semester. Access will be removed unless otherwise granted by your instructor.

• Fall - Three weeks into Spring semester
• Spring - Three weeks into Summer semester
• Summer - Three weeks into Fall semester

How-to: Change my Display Name

Canvas pulls all name information from the CMU Directory. If you would like to change your display name in Canvas, you will need to enter a preferred name in the CMU Directory.

Note that, while this will change your display name, your legal name will remain the same. If you would like to change your legal name, please contact the HUB.

1. Go to https://emailtools.cmu.edu/directory
2. In the Preferred Name field, enter the name you would like to display in Canvas (first name only!)
3. Click Update

Please note: it can take up to 24 hours for changes made here to reflect in Canvas.

How to: Hide Courses on the Dashboard

In the Far Left Navigation, click on the “Courses” link, then click on  “All Courses.”  This will bring up a new page list of your Courses.

To favorite a course, click the star next to the title name. Courses with filled stars show the course is a favorite.

After you have manually favorited at least one course, Canvas will automatically favorite any new published course that you are enrolled in. 

You can only favorite active courses. Past enrollments cannot be favorited, however, depending on course configuration, you may still be able to view your past enrollments after courses have concluded. Favorited courses from past semesters are not automatically removed as a favorite. If a past enrollment course still shows as a favorite, you can unfavorite the course by toggling the star icon.

How-to: Change Notification Settings

To Change your Notifications preferences in Canvas, click on your Account in the Global Navigation Bar and then select “Notifications” from the list.

The Notifications page allows you to choose whether or not you wish to receive email notifications from your courses, and the frequency to which you wish to receive them. To change your preferences, simply click one of the four icons, listed below: 

• Notify me right away (Checkmark Icon) - Notifications set to Notify Me Right Away may be delayed by up to one hour. 
• Daily summary (Clock Icon) - Delivery varies among users, but daily summaries are typically sent out around 6pm in the user’s time zone.
• Weekly summary (Calendar Icon) - The date and time of your weekly notifications are posted at the bottom of your notifications page.
• Don’t send (“X” Icon)

These changes are made immediately once an option is selected. Your Notification settings apply to all of your courses and you cannot change settings for individual courses.

Find more information on Notifications in this Canvas resource [pdf]