Within Canvas, if a course is listed as published, students and instructors can see and access course materials and tools. If a course is listed as unpublished, instructors can see and access course materials and tools, while students cannot.

Canvas courses can be published but not available for active student participation outside of the course’s Term Dates. Term Dates for each semester begin two weeks before the beginning of the first day of class until one week after grades are due. Outside of these Term Dates, students cannot participate in courses. At the end of each semester, on the Term End Date, Canvas courses enter a read-only archived state and can no longer be edited.

Blueprint courses are used by some departments to manage classes that involve multiple sections and/or instructors. For this reason, Blueprints are not used in Winter MiniTerm or May MiniTerm.

Requests for new/first-time installation of third-party external tools (LTI integrations or “apps”) that integrate with Canvas must be made a minimum of three weeks before the beginning of each semester. However, depending on vendor communication and installation complexity, please be aware that new/first-time installation of these tools can take 4-6 weeks. This does not apply to tools that have already been installed in Canvas and just need to be added to a specific course.

For the university’s full academic calendar, visit the Office of the University Registrar’s Calendar Page.

Key dates by semester

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Winter Mini-Term 2026: (January 5 – 16, 2026)
VolBooks course materials adoption site closes	November 1, 2025
Course shells available to faculty	November 5, 2025
Last day to request a NEW LTI integration/installation	December 15, 2025
​Canvas courses Term End Date	January 28, 2026

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Spring Term 2026: (January 20 – May 6, 2026)
VolBooks course materials adoption site closes	November 1, 2025
Course shells available to faculty	November 5, 2025
Last day to request a NEW LTI integration/installation	December 23, 2025
Blueprint courses to be disassociated	May 19, 2026
Canvas courses Term End Date	May 26, 2026

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May Mini-Term 2026: (May 15 – May 29, 2026)
VolBooks course materials adoption site closes	April 1, 2026
Course shells available to faculty	March 15, 2026
Last day to request a NEW LTI integration/installation	April 24, 2026
​Canvas courses Term End Date	June 9, 2026

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Summer Term 2026: (May 26 – August 11, 2026)
Course shells available to faculty	March 15, 2026
VolBooks course materials adoption site closes	April 1, 2026
Last day to request a NEW LTI integration/installation	May 5, 2026
Blueprint courses to be disassociated	August 14, 2026
Canvas courses Term End Date	August 21, 2026

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