Instructor Help

How to Add or Change a Course Nickname in Canvas 

1. Go to your Dashboard in Canvas. 
   Make sure you're in Card View (not List View) so you can see your course tiles. 
2. Find the course you want to rename and click the three dots (⋮) in the upper-right corner of that course card. 
3. In the pop-up window, type your preferred nickname in the “Nickname” field. 
   (For example: “ENG 101 – Fall 2025” or “Stats Lab – Section 3”) 
4. Click Apply. 

How to Publish/Unpublish a Course in Canvas 

Publish: 

1. From the Dashboard, click the gray Publish button on your course card (it will turn green when published),  

or 

1. On the Home Page, look in the right-hand sidebar.
2. Click the Publish button (it will turn green when published). 

 

Unpublish: 

1. Open the course, and on the Home Page sidebar click Unpublish.
2. Note: You can only unpublish if no students have submitted work in the course. 

Copying Course Content in Canvas (Using the Import Tool) 

1. Go to the new course where you want the content copied. 
2. On the Home Page, in the right-hand sidebar, click Import Course Content at the top. 
3. In the new window, open the drop-down menu and select Copy a Canvas Course. 
4. Search for the course you want to copy from (using nicknames can make this easier). 
5. Choose either: 
6. All Content – copies everything, or 
7. Select Specific Content – allows you to choose items individually. 
8. (Optional) Check Adjust Events and Due Dates if you want Canvas to automatically shift dates. 
9. Click Add to Import Queue. 
10. If you chose Select Specific Content, click Select Content when prompted, then select the items you want. 

To favorite (or unfavorite) courses on your Dashboard:

1. In the blue global navigation menu on the left, click Courses → All Courses.

2. You’ll see a list of current, past, and future courses.

3. Click the ★ (star icon) next to a course:

   • A filled star means the course appears on your Dashboard.

   • An empty star means it does not appear on your Dashboard, but remains in All Courses.

4. Return to your Dashboard to see the updated course cards.