Item UNLOCK DATE option?

[rulven]

This feature is so close to what we have ideally wanted for our schools' course flow for several years

If there was an option to change the item function from Due Date to UNLOCK Date, that would be ideal. I know this is essentially Drip Content and is something that many Instructure community members have inquired about in the past, but it looks like the basic "rolling enrollment calendar adjustment" algorithm is there, so maybe as an alternative to the date due, another option (like a dropdown menu) can be added that instead locks the item up until that date, so it can slightly throttle the speed at which a particular student, or a whole course full of students can advance through a course.

[dlyons]

@rulven, for now Course Pacing is focused on open-ended, self-paced courses, so we're not considering managing availability dates at this time. It is feedback we've heard from multiple adjacent use cases (like the one you've described) so it's definitely on our radar. 

[ScottWhit]

Wanted to echo the desire for this feature. We are an "open-ended, self-paced" institution. Being open-ended and self-paced means that students can take as long as they like to complete an assignment. However, we want the ability to manage the pace at which students have access to an assignment. We don't want our students moving through the material at a faster pace that the one established. The Due Date feature is great to compel students to complete on time. It does not pace a student's access. Please re-consider adding this feature sooner rather than later.

[AllisonHowell]

Thanks, @ScottWhit! This is a great explanation of your use case that will help as we determine next steps for Course Pacing. 

[scott1]

Hi Allison,

Wanted to check in and see if there is any update on the request for this feature. The original suggestion and feedback were posted more than 1 year ago. 

This is not just a minor issue for us. It was something that we identified during our due diligence discussions during the purchase decision, and we received what I thought was confirmation that the Pacing Feature would do what we needed it to do. It does not. As a result, we have significantly delayed the implementation of our Canvas instance pending an understanding of Canvas' commitment to implement the requested feature. If this is not something Canvas is willing to implement, rather than just "consider", I would like to know that so we can assess our options at this time.

Thank you for your assistance in this matter.

[AllisonHowell]

@scott1 I understand the frustration, but we have not been able to prioritize this feature yet. This is not something we have committed to doing at all, much less in a specific timeframe, though it does seem like a reasonable request and it is still very much on our list of possible enhancements. I'm not sure where the misunderstanding occurred -- do you have more details you can share?