Manage student progress in CANVAS

Using a combination of module prerequisites and module requirements you can control the pace at which your students move through your course materials. Here's the process:

STEP 1) Add requirements to your first module

First, you need to set a module within your course to have some type of requirement (e.g., submit an assignment, complete a quiz, receive a specific grade, etc.). If you require a manual grade entry, you will have control of their progress.

Want a video tutorial instead? See How do I add requirements to a module?

1. In your course navigation, go to Modules.
2. Locate your first main content module, click the options icon (triple dot), then select the Edit. 
3. Click the Add Requirement button.
4. A common way to manage student progress is to require an assignment to be submitted or graded. If you want full control of your student's progress, create an assignment submission that requires you to grade it. Add that assignment to the module and require it to have a minimum of a specific score which ensures it must be graded before the module can be completed. Continue with STEP 2 below to complete the setup.
5. You can add multiple requirements and require a specific order to complete them in if desired.
6. Press Save when you're finished. 

LEARN MORE: How do I add requirements to a module?

STEP 2) Add prerequisites to your next module

If you set your previous module to require a specific score, you can control your students progress by setting the next module's "prerequisite" as the previous module which requires a graded score. Depending on the type of graded assignment, you can either automate this process using an auto-graded quiz, or do manual grading such as an assignment submission, which gives you full control of their pace.

Want a video tutorial instead? See How do I add prerequisites to a module?

1. In course navigation, go to Modules.
2. Locate your next main content module, click the options icon (triple dot), then select the Edit.
    
3. Click the Add Prerequisite button.
4. In the Prerequisite drop-down menu, select the module students must complete before moving on.
5. Press Save when you're finished.

LEARN MORE: How do I add prerequisites to a module?

STEP 3) Confirm settings with your Test Student

1. At the top right corner of CANVAS, click View as Student
2. Step through your course modules to confirm it controls progress as you intend.

STEP 4) Grading and managing course pace

Under normal conditions, you'll grade assignments as they're submitted. However, managing student progress is sometimes necessary if they are attempting to cram a course into an excessively short period of time. If you need to delay the progress of a student you can add additional gates to help manage the pace of the course. For example, you can set the major course mile stones (projects, exams, etc.) to require manual grading. Then set a requirement that the student receive a specific minimum score on that item (STEP 1 above) before they can move on to the next module (STEP 2 above). This gives you a chance to provide the student critical feedback before they're permitted to move forward. This will prevent students from submitting any further work before you have a chance to review their initial batch of work. At this point, you can also prevent the student from proceeding simply by not entering a grade in CANVAS, and then proceeding with communication efforts with the student as you see fit.

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