Supporting Student Success
Assignment due dates cannot extend beyond the Course End Date. Therefore, if an instructor needs to extend access for an assignment, exam, or other course activity for the entire class, the course or term date settings must also be adjusted by the instructor (or a user with administrative privileges), not just the assignment due date itself.
This process should not be used for students receiving an Incomplete grade. Incomplete accommodations are handled through a separate institutional process requiring the instructor to submit a support ticket so that a Canvas administrator can provide access only for the specific student and instructor involved, rather than reopening the course for the entire class.
Instructions
Option 1: Edit the Course End Date
- Go to Settings (in the course).
- Stay on the Course Details tab.
- Look for Participation.
- If it's set to “Term,” change it to Course.
- Enter a new End Date at least one day after the desired due date of the assignment. (e.g., If the new due date for the final exam is May 10, extend the course End Date to May 11th or later).
- Select Update Course Details.
After that, you can go back to the exam and set the due date to the desired due date.
Option 2: Use “Available Until” instead (temporary work around)
If changing the term isn’t possible:
- Keep the original due date
- Set “Available Until” to new due date
(Example: if the original due date of the assignment is May 7th and you need to extend the due date to May 10th, change the "Available Until" date to May 10th)
Note:
- This allows submissions late
- But Canvas will mark them late unless you also:
- Adjust late policies, or
- Add individual student extensions in the “Assign To” section
Best Practice
The cleanest fix is Option 1 (change course participation dates), because:
- It avoids late flags
- It keeps grading clean
- It fully reopens the exam window
Security and Cleanup Reminder
When the extension period is over, instructors should return the course Participation setting and End Date back to the original term dates.
Leaving a course open longer than necessary may unintentionally allow continued student access to course materials, assessments, discussions, feedback, grades, or other instructional content beyond the intended academic term. Restoring the original term dates helps maintain course security, grading integrity, and proper access control.