Canvas

As an instructor, you may be able to restrict student access to your course before the course start date or after the course end date. These restriction settings can be used independently or in conjunction with override course start and end dates for the course. If no course override dates are specified for the course, the start and end dates apply to the term dates. For more information, view the interactive Student Course Visibility and Participation flowchart.

Please be aware that the settings for student access are already set by your institutional admin. If settings are available to you, you can modify them for your course. If settings are locked, you cannot change the settings for your course.

Restrict students from viewing course before start date: When a student enrolls in a future course, the course displays in the Future Enrollments section in the student's Courses list. Once a course is published, the course displays an invitation to join the course. When students join a future course, they can view course content at any time before the course begins. To restrict students from viewing course content before the start date, even if the course is published, you can enable the Restrict students from viewing course before start date option. Course dates override term dates. If the course start date is after the term start date, you must enable this option if you want to restrict access before the course start date.

Restrict students from viewing course after end date: Once a course has concluded, students can still view the course but all content is displayed in a read-only state. To restrict students from viewing the course after the course has concluded, you can enable the Restrict students from viewing course after end date option. This setting can be used if your institution uses the course across multiple terms and wants to restrict students from accessing prior content for future students, or if students have to re-enroll in the course. Course dates override term dates. If the course end date is before the term end date, you must enable this option if you want to restrict access after the course end date.

Notes:

Although any changed section dates override course dates, student access restrictions cannot be set at the section level, and restriction options apply to all sections within the course.
Restricting student access does not apply to users who do not have course enrollments and are accessing the course through Public or Institution visibility options.

Open Settings

In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.

Set Restriction Options

In the Courses tab, view the Visibility section. By default, student access checkboxes are not selected, meaning students can view courses before and after course dates. To retain this default for the course, do not select any checkboxes.

To set a default so that students cannot view a link to the course before the course start date, click the Restrict students from viewing courses before start date checkbox [1]. When selected, the course is inaccessible before the course start date. If the course dates are blank, the start date applies to the term start date.

To set a default so that students cannot access the course after the course end date, Restrict students from viewing courses after end date checkbox [2]. When selected, the course is inaccessible after the course end date. If the course dates are blank, the end date applies to the term end date.

Change Student Access

The default checkbox settings are passed down from the account level. By default, student access checkboxes are not selected, meaning students can view and access courses before and after course dates.

Depending on your admin, the student access setting may vary in your course.

View Locked Setting

If your admin has locked one or more settings, locked settings are grayed out and cannot be changed.

If your admin has not locked one or more settings, you can change the settings for your course as necessary. If any settings are already selected, the selection indicates the default for the entire institution.