Category: Instructors

Guidelines for Submitting Syllabi and Course Content

November 19, 2025

Would you like help with your course design in Canvas? You have come to the right place! Online Learning is happy to assist in building your course in Canvas. Once your syllabus is finalized and approved by your department, we ask that you follow the following guidelines to make the process as seamless as possible.

Please email a single Syllabus Word document to onlinelearningsupport@ciis.edu, including:

  • Instructor contact information
  • Class meeting dates, times, and location
  • A course calendar with clearly defined dates
  • All assignments with relevant assignment details, including due dates, assignment description, submission format, point values, and rubrics

If your course uses additional artifacts, such as course readings, lecture material, videos, podcasts, etc., please ensure the following:

  • Readings are uploaded to the Files section in Canvas and all readings match at least the title or author that is stated in the Syllabus
  • Lecture videos are uploaded to the course using Canvas Studio (we can help with this!)
  • Linked media (ex: youtube videos, podcasts, etc.) have correct links. Please check that the link points to the correct/intended video/podcast and that there are no “not found” error messages

Many departments have their own Syllabus template for use. Please check with your Department Chair to see if there is a syllabus template you should use.

If you’d like to set up an appointment with an Instructional Designer, please use the ID Group Calendly.

We look forward to supporting you!

Post Grades Manually

November 18, 2025

Control grade visibility by posting grades manually when you are ready.

By default, Canvas courses will post grades automatically, as soon as they are entered in the Grades tab or submitted in SpeedGrader.

You can choose to “mute” grades by changing the Grade Posting Policy. This allows you to grade everyone in the class before “releasing” grades for an individual Assignment. We recommend that this be done before grading begins.
 
You can set the policy at the course level or at the individual Assignment level. Please note that Assignment-level posting policies will override the course-level posting policy.
 
The manual course posting policy is not retroactive. If you select it after grades have been entered, any grades that were already posted will remain visible. If you wish, you can hide grades.
 
Please note that the Hide grades function is different from the Grade Posting Policy. Hide grades should be used sparingly, i.e., to temporarily hide grades posted in error. If you have questions about the Hide grades feature, please contact onlinelearningsupport@ciis.edu.

Set the Policy at the Course Level

For a demonstration of steps #1-3 below, play the video or click here to open in a new tab.

To hide or show subtitles while playing, select the CC icon: CC icon.
To jump to a specific section, select the table of contents icon:
Table of contents icon.You can select a chapter (on certain videos only), or type a term into the search field and select a returned result.

Set the Policy at the Assignment Level

  1. Click Grades from the course navigation menu:Grades tab
  2. Select the settings icon near the top right:
  3. In the window that opens, select the Grade Posting Policy tab, then select Manually Post Grades. Then click Update at the bottom right:Grade Posting Policy tab with radio button that says Manually Post Grades and Update button at the bottom right.
  4. When a manual posting policy has been applied and a grade has been entered, the Assignment header displays a Visibility icon [1]. This indicates that a manual posting policy is in place. You must manually post the grades before they can be viewed by students. Also, if a manual posting policy has been applied to a course, all Assignment headers will display the Manual label [2]. The Total column will also display a Visibility icon [3]. This indicates that the grade in the Grades tab is different from the total grade viewed by the student.Number 1 is the slashed eye icon in an Assignment column header. Number 2 is the word Manual in an Assignment column header. Number 3 is a slashed eye icon in a row of the Total column
  5. When you are ready, post the grades.

Set the policy at the Assignment level

  1. Click Grades from the course navigation menu:Grades tab
  2. Hover over the Assignment column header and click the Options icon, then click Grade Posting Policy:
  3. Select Manually in the tray that opens to the right. Then click Save:
    Radio button next to Manually with a Save button at the bottom right.
  4. When a manual posting policy has been applied and a grade has been entered, the Assignment header displays a Visibility icon [1]. This indicates that a manual posting policy is in place. You must manually post the grades before they can be viewed by students. Also, if a manual posting policy has been applied, the Assignment header will display the Manual label [2]. The Total column will also display a Visibility icon [3]. This indicates that the grade in the Grades tab is different from the total grade viewed by the student.Number 1 is the slashed eye icon in an Assignment column header. Number 2 is the word Manual in an Assignment column header. Number 3 is a slashed eye icon in a row of the Total column
  5. When you are ready, post the grades.

Post the grades

  1. Any Assignment with grades that are not visible will be indicated by the Visibility icon [1]. When you have finished grading everyone, hover over the Assignment column header and click the Options icon [2]. Then select Post Grades [3].
  2. Number 1 is a slashed eye icon within an Assignment column header. Number 2 is the options icon within an Assignment column header. Number 3 is Post Grades.A tray will open to the right. Select to post everyone’s grades, or only those who have received a grade or submission comment. Then select Post:
  3. You will see a success message once grades have been posted:Message that says Success! Grades have been posted to everyone for Assignment 1.

Moving email from “Other” to “Focused” inbox in Outlook

October 15, 2025

Email sometimes gets “stuck” in the Other inbox in Outlook. This can happen for a number of reasons – mainly if you regularly receive email from that sender without opening it. Please see the below graphic to move email from a specific sender into the Focused inbox.

Protected: SPSS S25-26

October 6, 2025

This content is password protected. To view it please enter your password below:

Canvas Tour

August 12, 2025

Here’s a brief tour to get you started with navigating CIIS’ Canvas platform.

Accessing Microsoft Bookings

December 9, 2024

To access the Microsoft Bookings app, first log-on to Office.com with your university email address and email password. Once logged-in, from the Office.com home page:

Select the nine dot app home ellipsis (1.) at the top left of the page. If the Bookings app icon is not present, select the More apps icon (2.).

Office.com home page app home

On the page that opens, if the Bookings app icon is not present, select the small All apps under the first row of apps (3.):

Office.com apps page

On the page that opens, select the Booking app icon to access the app:

Office.com all apps page