Canvas News

Students: Beginning-of-Term Canvas Course Access (2026W1; September 2026)

Please note that by default, your Canvas courses will not appear on your Dashboard for access until the first day of term, September September 8, 2026, and access to courses typically ends eight weeks after the last day of class (approximately December 7, 2026). However, instructors may adjust their courses to open early or close late.

Introducing the new Accessibility Checker within Canvas

On June 30, 2026, we will be enabling the new course Accessibility Checker tool within Canvas, which allows you to build your course while considering different accessibility attributes. The tool works by scanning pages and assignments within your Canvas course, and detecting common accessibility issues including: What do I need to know about this new […]

Threadz and Student Timezones suspended in May 2026

The LT Hub suspended the Threadz and Student Timezones tools on May 5, 2026.

Migrating from ePortfolio to the new Canvas Portfolio Feature

On June 30, 2026, the Canvas ePortfolios feature, currently listed as “ePortfolios (Legacy)” in the Global Navigation, will be discontinued and replaced by the new Canvas Portfolio feature.

Enabling a new Differentiation Tags feature within Canvas

On Wednesday January 21, 2026, we will be enabling a new feature on Canvas, called Differentiation Tags.

Students: Beginning-of-Term Canvas Course Access (2025W2; January 2026)

Please note that by default, your Canvas courses will not appear on your Dashboard for access until the first day of term, Monday January 5, 2026, and access to courses typically ends eight weeks after the last day of class (approximately June 5, 2026). However, instructors may adjust their courses to open early or close late.

Recent Zoom upgrade may require re-adding Zoom links to Canvas courses

On August 19, 2025, 10:30 a.m. PST, we upgraded the Zoom integration in Canvas to a new version to improve stability and performance. The upgrade completed successfully; however, certain Zoom settings were reset in Canvas and may require re-adding Zoom to areas of your Canvas course.

New interim process in place for how publisher content and tools are included in Canvas

We previously shared the need to change how publisher content and tools are included in Canvas at UBC, and those changes are now underway.

Kaltura to be upgraded and unavailable overnight December 21-22, 2024

UBC’s main media platform Kaltura will be upgraded between Saturday, December 21 and Sunday, December 22, 2024. From 10:00 p.m. Saturday to 8:00 a.m. Sunday PST, Kaltura media will largely be inaccessible for viewing or updating, whether you try to access it in Canvas, through the UBC Teaching and Learning Media Portal, or with an embed on another website.

Changes coming in W2 to how publisher content and tools are included in Canvas

We have been including publisher content and tools in UBC Canvas courses using a tool called Willo Labs. Willo Labs added extra layers of security to keep student information and data from going to publishers. Examples of this type of content/tool include Achieve, WileyPlus, Connect, InQuizitive, MindTap, and Mastering.

However, Willo Labs was abruptly discontinued this month. Now the UBC Bookstore and LT Hub are working on a new way to include publisher content and tools in Canvas courses while still meeting UBC privacy requirements.

Pause on central support for Ally starting in 2024

Ally is a content-checking tool that works in Canvas to help teaching teams improve the accessibility of course content. During the past year, the LT Hub has been centrally supporting and piloting Ally. Now that the pilot has concluded, LT Hub Leadership has decided to pause central support of Ally.

Potential change to your name in Canvas and other services coming July 27

We are simplifying and streamlining how learning technology systems at UBC determine what name to display for you.

Collaborate Ultra access turned off June 30

As part of UBC’s move away from Collaborate Ultra, your access to Collaborate Ultra recordings in Canvas will be turned off on Wednesday, June 30, 2021. This removal is in preparation for UBC’s access to Collaborate Ultra and all stored recordings officially ending on July 31, 2021.