Academic Continuity

Keep Teaching, Keep Learning 

In Case Canvas Goes Down: Faculty Continuity Measures 

We know that a Canvas outage can create significant disruption, especially with finals approaching. This page shares continuity steps faculty can take to support instruction and communication with students if Canvas becomes temporarily unavailable. 

Updates about the outage 

Please continue to refer to the updates available from the Chancellor’s Office. We will continue to share practical steps and resources for faculty as they become available. 

Download key course materials in advance 

Faculty who have assignments, assessments, instructions, rubrics, readings, or other essential course materials uploaded to Canvas are encouraged to download copies and keep them available outside of Canvas. Having copies of these materials available outside of Canvas will make it easier to continue instruction if Canvas becomes temporarily unavailable. 

This may include assignment instructions, exams, quizzes, assessment prompts, rubrics, grading criteria, course readings, handouts, syllabi, course schedules, and files needed for final projects or presentations. 

Use the following resources:

Accessing student grade and assignment data through Canvas Insights 

While Canvas itself may be temporarily unavailable, we have a home-grown faculty tool called Canvas Insights which retains gradebook-related data outside of the Canvas environment. This includes assignment data, score data, and running score information. 

Canvas Insights also includes an option to email your students directly using the available class list. To learn more on how to access Canvas Insights through the CSUN Portal and email students, go to the Canvas Insights website. 

In addition, we have created a Canvas Insights email template called Canvas Outage Update to make it easier for you to communicate with your students about an incident. The template is fully editable. Please review the wording to ensure that it is accurate for your course. 

Finals and remaining assignments 

If Canvas is temporarily unavailable, we recommend proceeding on the assumption that Canvas may not be available in time for finals. Please consider preparing alternate formats for final exams, final projects, and remaining assignments. These alternatives may include email submission, in-person exams, or other formats appropriate to your course. 

As you make alternate plans, we encourage you to communicate clearly with students about submission methods and any changes to the format of final assessments. 

Class rosters 

To further support faculty-student communication during a Canvas outage, class roster listserv email addresses may be re-sent to all faculty. This provides a single email address that includes all students on your class roster. 

In addition, class rosters can be accessed through the Portal in the Faculty Center. For more information, visit Faculty Center Guides.

Support for faculty

We recognize how difficult the timing of a Canvas outage can be, and our team is actively working to provide the most useful tools and guidance possible. 

Thank you for your flexibility and patience. We are here to support you as you navigate the days ahead.