Working with Multiple Sections and Cross-Listed Classes

This page is for teachers who have multiple sections of a class (For example, if you teach ENGL 112 at 10:30 and at 12:00), or who have cross-listed classes (For example, if you teach a class that is listed as both BBST 465 and CNMA 459)

For Multiple Sections: By default, the Registrar's Office creates a separate Canvas course for each course. However, you can request to have your sections combined so that students from both sections will have access to one single course on Canvas. This allows you to manage both sections in one place, and keeps you from having to duplicate your work. To combine your sections, email the Biola Canvas Administrator. See the end of this page for more details about this decision.

For Cross-Listed Courses: They are automatically combined by the Registrar's Office. However, sometimes the classes get created on Canvas before all the cross-listings are entered. If there are any discrepancies, email the Biola Canvas Administrator.

View Sections and Rosters

To see which sections are connected to the class, click (1) Settings in the left menu then (2) the Sections tab. The list will show which sections of students have access to the course. The last four digits of the SIS ID corresponds the Biola's CRN number for the course.

Click "People" to view the roster - the "Section" column shows the section for each student.

Assign Different Due Dates to Sections

When you create an assignment, you can assign the same due date to all students, or you can assign different dates to each section. (You can even assign a different due date to individual students.) To do this, go to the "Edit" page of an Assignment (click "Assignments" then click on one of the assignments, then click the "Edit" button at the top). Near the bottom, you will see the "Assign" section with the due date and availability dates. Click "+Add"

A menu will appear where you can choose one of the sections:

Then you can enter a due date for that specific section. See more details in the Canvas documentation about assigning due dates.

View Gradebook by Section

By default, the Gradebook shows students from all sections. To view just one section, click "View" then "Filters" then "Sections" and that will show a drop-down menu. Click "All Sections" and then choose a specific section to view the grades just from that one section.


Screen shot showing view filters

Should I Combine Sections? Pros & Cons

Quick answer: Yes, probably so. We recommend it for most situations. Here are a list of pros & cons:

Pros:

  • Avoid duplicating your work. You only need to upload course content in one place on Canvas.
  • You don't have to remember which students are in which section, all grades and assignments are in one place.
  • You can still have separate due dates (see above)
  • You can still view the Gradebook separately (see above)

Cons:

  • You cannot have different grade weight by section (for example, if you want homework to count for 20% in the 10:30 section, but 25% for the 12:00 section).
  • Having different assignments requires extra setup (if you assign HW#3 to the 10:30 section, but not to the 12:00 section)
  • You need to remember to request this at the beginning of the semester. (We send reminders each semester.)
  • If you use Discussions, and if you want to limit the discussions to each section, you need to create groups.

Combining sections is a good idea if you run the sections pretty much the same way (same assignments, same syllabus, etc.) which most teachers do. Even if there are small differences such as one section takes a quiz and the other one doesn't, there are ways to make it work. However, if you need to be able to do completely different things for the different sections, it may make sense to keep them separate.