Frequently Asked Questions
Who do I contact in case I have an issue?
How do I get a course shell? (for instructors)
Who gets an account in the Canvas LMS?
Is there any type of Canvas orientation video available for students or users new to Canvas?
How do I log into Canvas?
Can I change my password in the Canvas LMS?
Students are enrolled in the class, but it doesn’t show up in their list of courses. Why?
What browser should I use?
When are students added to courses?
How long do I have access to my Canvas course?
How can I find out more about using the Canvas LMS?
Is there a web conferencing/meeting tool for students in Canvas (where students can communicate with one another face to face in real time online)?
Does Canvas work in all labs on campus?
Can I connect from home and work in my online Canvas course?
Can I use my mobile device or smart phone to access an online Canvas course?
I've lost my network connection when taking a Canvas Quiz or Test. What do I do?
How do I troubleshoot the Respondus LockDown Browser (RLDB) application?
Where can I see a student's activity in Canvas (for instructors)?
Is there a Canvas manual for faculty?
Is there a Canvas manual for students?
Who do I contact in case I have an issue?
- (for faculty and students) Technical support for faculty and students is available within the colleges via Online Support Technicians:
- Contact Us
- Support Request (via online form submission)
- (for faculty and students) General technical support for faculty and students is also available via the Help Desk:
- (for students) For course related problems (problems finding course material and resources in a Canvas course), students can contact their instructor of record and/or contact their A&M-Victoria Online Support Technician for help and assistance.
- (for faculty and adjuncts only) Training and pedagogical assistance is available to faculty and adjuncts from the Center for Teaching & Learning Excellence (CTLE):
How do I get a course shell? (for instructors)
Faculty and adjuncts can contact their A&M-Victoria Online Support Technician for course shell and other course content information.
Who gets an account in the Canvas LMS?
- Instructors of record teaching online Canvas courses
- Students who appear on the official class roster for a Canvas online course
- (optional) Persons of Interest (POIs) where the college or department has successfully sponsored a POI account and requested enrollment of the POI into a specific Canvas online course with a specific Canvas role
- Faculty and adjuncts should check with their college’s business office and/or Online Support Technician if they are encountering a delay with their Canvas account (delays can be caused by missing forms, documents, signatures, incomplete information, etc.)
- Faculty and adjuncts—depending on the business operations in their specific college—will receive information about their Canvas account from their specific business office and/or support staff. Faculty and adjuncts can contact their Online Support Technician for additional help and assistance.
- Students receive their A&M-Victoria account information from the Admissions Office usually located in the student’s admission letter.
- Students should note that it can take anywhere from 24 to 48 hours after successfully registering before they have access to the course in Canvas. Also, access to online Canvas courses occurs on the official first class day (in accordance with the official class schedule) not at the time the student registers for the course. After the semester starts, students will be enrolled into their online Canvas courses 24-48 hours after successfully registering for the course. Students can check with their college’s Online Support Technician or the Registrar’s Office should they encounter an issue with their Canvas online course enrollment process.
Is there any type of Canvas orientation video available for students or users new to the Canvas LMS?
Yes, Instructure has developed and produced a Canvas online orientation video.
How do I log into the Canvas LMS?
faculty, adjuncts, staff, and students log into the Canvas LMS with their email addresses and passwords…their same credentials to access Office 365 resources like Outlook email, Teams, OneDrive, etc.). Canvas is available as a cloud-based service at https://canvas.uhv.edu/ and is integrated with the DUO Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) technology. If you do not have a A&M-Victoria email account, you'll need to contact the IT Department. For students who register for or drop a Canvas course, it could take 24 to 48 hours to reflect the change in your Canvas account and Canvas course dashboard.
Can I change my password in the Canvas LMS?
You cannot change your password within the Canvas LMS. To "change" or "reset" your password, please follow the instructions provided on the Information Technology Password Reset webpage. You can also contact the IT Help Desk for assistance. The Help Desk is located on the second floor of University Center on campus. If you are not on campus, you can Request Help via email or call the Help Desk directly at (361) 570-4399 or (877) 970-4848, Ext. 4399.
Students are enrolled in the class, but it doesn't show up in their list of courses. Why?
- Usually the reason a course is not showing up is that the Canvas enrollment process hasn’t completed yet. It can take 24 to 48 hours after a student successfully registers for an online Canvas course before the student is granted access to the course. If it’s been more than 48 hours since successfully registering for an online Canvas course, students should contact their college’s Online Support Technician or Admissions for help and assistance.
- It's also possible that the course may be a face-to-face course and does not have a Canvas component. Students should check with their instructor or contact their college’s Online Support Technician for help and assistance.
Canvas works with a number of different web browsers. View browser support for PCs and Macs here.
When are students added to courses?
Students registering for online Canvas courses will normally be enrolled in the Canvas LMS within 24 to 48 hours after successful registration. A few days before the start of the semester, new students who have successfully registered for online courses will be able to log into the Canvas LMS but they won’t be able to access their course information until the official first class day (in accordance with the official class schedule). Only the college, dean, chair, registrar, or instructor of record can modify the course start and end dates in Canvas.
How long do I have access to my Canvas courses?
(for students) A&M-Victoria Canvas courses are not available to students on a continuous basis. Most Canvas courses are available to students two weeks after the official course “end date.” The official class schedule will indicate the specific class end date. This information is also available through the course offerings list (where students can select the campus and search for their specific course and identify the “Meeting Dates”…students have access to Canvas courses two weeks after the ending “Meeting Date” in the course offerings list).
Any other “start” or “end dates” and/or “Incompletes” in Canvas are scheduled in accordance and approval with the instructor of record for the course.
(for faculty) Canvas courses are available to faculty and adjuncts when the course has been requested by their college’s Online Support Technician and the Support Technician has processed the instructor’s enrollment from the separate Course Request System (CRS). Faculty and adjuncts will continue to have access to the Canvas course as long as it’s available in the Canvas LMS. Faculty and adjuncts can check with their college’s Online Support Technician to confirm if their course is still available in Canvas and/or help them restore a purged course for content retrieval, etc.
How can I find out more about using the Canvas LMS?
Additional Canvas resources for both faculty and students is made available on the Canvas Community website.
Is there a web conferencing/meeting tool for students in Canvas (where students can communicate with one another face to face in real time online)?
No. The Canvas LMS doesn’t provide a web conferencing/meeting tool for students, faculty, or adjuncts. A&M-Victoria does provide faculty and adjuncts with the "Zoom" technology that provides online webinar meeting rooms for face-to-face and recorded discussions online. Zoom technology is available to faculty and adjuncts but not students. Not all faculty or adjuncts may choose to integrate or use the Zoom technology with their course content. Other available technologies may include Microsoft Teams.
Does Canvas work in all labs on campus?
Yes. All A&M-Victoria lab computers on campus support the Canvas LMS.
Can I connect from home and work in my online Canvas course?
Depending on your type of computer and internet connection speed, you can access your course material and information from your home computer. To determine if your computer connection is compatible to access Canvas from home, check the minimum system requirements. For help and assistance, contact your Online Support Technician for your particular college.
Can I use my mobile device or smart phone to access online Canvas course?
The default browser available on your mobile device or smart phone may not be supported for use with the Canvas LMS (review the Canvas computer/browser requirements). Note that not all native browsers on mobile devices run the supported "OS" or "approved web browser" to use the Canvas LMS.
Instead, mobile apps are available that you can install on your mobile device to access and complete specific tasks in Canvas, but you are not able to complete all tasks in Canvas using the Canvas mobile app. Available Canvas mobile apps include: Canvas App (for students) and Canvas Instructor App (for faculty). You will still need to use a traditional laptop or desktop computer to successfully complete work in your online Canvas course. Review the Canvas mobile limited features guide for additional information.
I've lost my network connection when taking a Canvas Quiz or Test. What do I do?
Close your browser, re-start the browser, and go back to the test in Canvas. If permitted by the instructor, you will be returned to the test and/or test question you were just viewing. Otherwise, you must contact your instructor, who will need to ‘clear your attempt’ (per the instructor’s discretion) so you can start the test again. For assistance, you can contact the Online Support Technician for your particular A&M-Victoria college; contact information is provided. You can also report this issue online and request assistance by completing the “Support Request Form”.
How do I troubleshoot the Respondus LockDown Browser (RLDB) application?
- Launch the Respondus LockDown Browser (RLDB) application and click on the Help Center? icon that appears in the top, left menu area.
- Click on the Run System Check button.
- Wait for the system check results to complete for: (1) Bandwidth Test, (2) Latency Test, (3) Ports Check, (4) Flash Check, (5) Web Cam (optional) and (6) Microphone (optional). A green check should appear for all items.
- If there was an error or issue with Bandwidth, Latency, or Ports, the student will need to switch to a different wireless connection or stop using a wireless connection and switch to a wired connection and complete the steps above until there are no issues reported.
- Once no issues are reported, students can click the Return to Course button to log into the Canvas system and complete the RLDB test or quiz.
- Confirm whether or not an upgrade is required for the RLDB application. Launch the RLDB application and click on the Information - Settings option (appears in the menu in the top toolbar as a small letter "i" surrounded by a circle). .
- Click the Check for Newer Version button. Confirm whether or not a new version is available. If a newer version is available, follow the procedures on the screen to download and install the latest version of the RLDB application.
Where can I see a student's activity in Canvas (for instructors)?
The Canvas access report provides an easy way for instructors to discover which students might be struggling in the Canvas course. Instructors can communicate with the students and help them take the appropriate action to improve grade performance.
Also available for Canvas instructors is the Course Analytics feature.
Is there a Canvas manual for faculty?
No, but the Canvas vendor has created and maintains documentation specifically for instructors via the Canvas Community Instructor Guide.
Is there a Canvas manual for students?
No, but the Canvas vendor has developed and maintains documentation specifically for students via the Canvas Community Student Guide.