Canvas courses and Simple Syllabus documents are available to instructors in Canvas approximately ten (10) weeks prior to the official start date of the Fall and Winter semesters. For Summer semester Canvas courses, instructors gain access approximately one (1) month prior to the official start date.
| Winter 2026 (Start Date: January 12, 2026) | Summer 2026 (Start Date: June 5, 2026) | Fall 2026 (Start Date: September 2026) | Winter 2027 (Start Date: January 2027) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Canvas | Last Week of October 2025 | Early May 2026 | Last Week of June 2026 | Last Week of October 2026 |
| Simple Syllabus | Last Week of October 2025 | Early May 2026 | Last Week of June 2026 | Last Week of October 2026 |
Student Access to Canvas Courses
Students are enrolled when courses are created.
- Unpublished: When a course is unpublished, students will not see the course on their Canvas dashboard. All courses are unpublished by default.
- Published: When an instructor publishes a course, students will be able to see it on their “All Courses” page (with the option to add it to their dashboard). However, if they try to access the course before the first day of class, they will receive a message indicating the course is not yet available. On the first day of class, the course will appear on the student dashboard.
Student access to a course will switch to “view only,” and move into the “Past Enrollments” location of the Courses >> All Courses page at the end of the month in which final semester grades are submitted.
- Fall courses are active for students until the end of December.
- Summer courses are active for students until the end of August.
- Winter courses are active for students until the end of May.
“View only” access allows students to view course content, as well as download assignments they previously submitted. They can no longer actively submit or participate in the course. See a detailed summary of what students can access after a course is no longer active.
If an extension is needed for a course, please use our EdTech Contact Form or email edtech@ccsdetroit.edu with:
- Title of the Course
- Course Number (E.g., DFN 101 A)
- Name of Student
- Start and End Date