Keep Students on Track with the New Deadline Nudging Feature in Canvas Catalog
Managing online courses often comes with a familiar struggle: students missing deadlines and administrators spending hours sending out reminders. With Canvas Catalog's new Deadline Nudging feature, that changes.
This update introduces smart, automated email reminders that help students stay on top of their coursework. The goal is simple: improve completion rates while saving time for staff.
Why this matters
At many institutions, program administrators spend countless hours every week manually tracking student progress and sending follow-up emails. It’s tedious, unscalable, and not always effective. Meanwhile, students in self-paced courses often lose momentum without timely reminders.
The Deadline Nudging feature solves both problems. With a one-time setup, administrators can create and schedule emails that automatically remind students as course deadlines approach.
How it works
Administrators start by creating a personalized email template using simple variables like the student’s name, course end date, and progress level. Then, using the new Automatization menu, they configure when and how the reminders should be sent. Options include sending reminders 7, 3, or 1 day before a course ends or even customizing that timing.
Students receive a clear, personalized reminder in their inbox. At the same time, they see a dynamic countdown in their Catalog dashboard so they always know how many days they have left to finish their course.
Just the beginning
Deadline reminders are the first step in building a more complete nudging system in Catalog. Over the coming months, we plan to introduce additional nudge types including inactivity alerts, abandoned cart reminders, and course completion follow-ups. These updates are designed to provide broader support for engagement and retention across the entire learner journey.
Learn more
You can find full details in the Canvas Catalog Release Notes: July 21, 2025.
Help your learners finish what they start. Try Deadline Nudging in Canvas Catalog today.
