Student Success Center

Canvas @ USD

Log into your Canvas Courses

New to Canvas? No problem!

As an online student, Canvas is your main website to view course materials, submit assignments, view assignments grades, and more! This page is dedicated to outlining important information and tips for using Canvas.


Canvas at USD

If this is your first time using Canvas, navigating this new platform can be difficult. You are never alone here at USD, so we have laid out this road map to help guide the way. If after reviewing this page you are still having difficulty with Canvas, please reach out to your Program Coordinator or professor and they will be happy to assist.

Logging In

  • Access Canvas by opening a browser and navigating to: canvas.sandiego.edu – bookmark that link!
  • Your Canvas login credentials are your USDOne username and password, the same credentials you use to log into your MySanDiego student portal.
    • Ex: if your email is “[email protected]”, your username for Canvas will be “diegotorero”.

Browsers

  • It is recommended that students access Canvas using either the Firefox or Google Chrome internet browser application (Not Internet Explorer or Microsoft Edge).
  • You can check your current internet browser for compatibility by visiting the Canvas Browser Checker website.

Getting Help

Once logged into Canvas, click the “Help” tab on the top left part of the sidebar. Options exist for support, academic support, media support, and more. You may also view the Canvas Student Guide for additional support.

Subscribe to Course Notifications

You can receive notifications of course activity by clicking on your name on the left panel of your Canvas page and then on the “Notifications” link. You can now select how often you wish to receive notifications, via email or push notifications. It is recommended that you select the “notify immediately” option.

System Maintenance Window

Please check status.instructure.com for any maintenance updates.

Where is my course?

  • If you do not see a class you have been enrolled in, it may take up to 24 hours for your enrollment to load through Canvas.
    • Please note, you will not gain access to your courses in Canvas until the Thursday before the start date of your course (unless otherwise specified). During the early preview period, you will not be able to start any coursework until the first day of class, but you may start with your readings.
  • If you do not see one of your course sections in Canvas, please contact your Program Coordinator or the USD Student Success team at [email protected].

Need help navigating your course?

View a guide about how to navigate your Canvas Orientation course.


Canvas student: phone application


Inside a Canvas Course: Tips for Success

Now that you know how to navigate your course, we have some tips and tricks for success. What’s the best way to name an assignment? How do I see my grades? We have your answers below.

File attachments and Naming Convention

  • Canvas will allow you to attach ANY type of file format so check with your instructor for his/her preferred document type.
  • It is highly advisable to consistently name your attached files with your name in the title and to following a standard convention such as: Diego_AssignmentOne.docx
  • Avoid using the following characters in filenames as they cause errors: % & # < > = + / ‘ , ” : ! ? $ @ | [ ] { }

Assignments

  • Upon assignment submission, you will receive a confirmation screen with the date and timestamp.
  • To view grades and feedback from your professor, from your browser go to the “Grades” area in your course. If you do not see any comments under your grade, you can click on the assignment title, which will take you to a “Submission Details” page. On the right-hand side, you can view comments or select “View Feedback”.
  • To view instructor feedback on the mobile app: go to the “Grades” area in your course, click on the assignment name, and then click on “Submission & Rubric”. Comments from the professor (if any) should pop up.

Grades

  • To view grades for all current courses,  click on “View Grades” on the right-side dashboard screen. It will show your current grades for the courses you are enrolled in.
  • If you want to check the grade of a single previous course, you can access the course through the “Courses” link in the sidebar. The previous courses will be found in the “All Courses” link, and then you can view the “Grades” page.

If you want to check the grades of multiple courses, we recommend viewing them on the MySanDiego portal using the “View/Print Unofficial Transcript” link under the “Torero Hub” > “My Academics”.

Quizzes

  • Answers should autosave; verify that each question saves as you go along to ensure that any network issues or glitches will not affect the work you have already done.
  • It is highly recommended that you take all tests using a hard-wired connection versus wireless. Sometimes wireless connections drop, which may cause you to get locked out of your test.

Discussion Board

  • When responding to an existing conversation/thread, always hit “Reply.”
  • When you submit a reply to a discussion board post, it will automatically subscribe you to the related thread. You can also subscribe to threads by clicking the “Subscribe” button on the right-hand side of the discussion board.

Writing

  • By default, the content editor (text editor where you compose submissions and posts in Canvas) contains one row of formatting icons. Click the toolbar headers (Ex. Edit, View, Insert, etc.) in the content editor to view advanced content editor features. 
  • An auto-save feature can sometimes save your work before any unexpected outages, but we recommend you do all of your writing in a plain-text editor such as Google Docs. Once you are ready to post, you can copy/paste it into the content editor in Canvas.
  • You can use Microsoft Word to compose your submissions; however, Word often includes extraneous formatting when pasting into Canvas. Using plain-text editors is preferred.
  • View a complete guide to using the content editor

Media/Video Files

Need Canvas Help?

Contact the ITS Help Desk

(619) 260-7900
[email protected]

ITS Hours

Mon-Thurs: 7am-6pm PT
Fri: 7am-5pm PT
Sat & Sun: Closed (Limited Phone Support)

Netiquette Guidelines

The concept of netiquette covers proper communication online. Read our guidelines to help cultivate a supportive and productive online environment.