Categories
Canvas Spotlight

Use Quiz Accommodations in Canvas

Last updated on November 16, 2022

Tools: New and Classic Quizzes

During your time as an instructor, you have likely had students ask for extra time or multiple attempts to complete a quiz. Some students may provide an official letter from the Access Center stating their legally required accommodations. When a student does not have an official Access Center letter, it can be harder to know whether you should grant their request.

Here are some considerations to take into account:

  • Can you verify the circumstances? If your student described technical issues, do they have a screenshot of the technical issue with a timestamp? If there is a medical reason, do they have a letter from their doctor?
  • Who is responsible for the student’s inability to complete their quiz? Was it a situation that could have been avoided? And, if so, would providing the student with extra time or attempts create an unfair advantage over other students who were able to complete their quiz within the required limits?

If you decide that a student’s situation warrants accommodations, both New and Classic Canvas’ quiz types include tools to make it easier for you to automatically apply accommodations to a given quiz to meet individual student needs. However, these tools function differently, so you want to consider which quiz tool meets your needs. For example, New Quizzes enable you to assign extra time to a student for just one quiz or for all quizzes in the course at once, whereas you add student accommodations to each individual quiz in the Classic Quizzes tool.

Best Practices

  • In your syllabus or course information, describe the circumstances and forms of verification you will accept to provide accommodations.
  • Consider using New Quizzes if you would like to assign extra time accommodations to a student for all quizzes in the course.
  • You may need to extend the Availability window if it ends before the accommodation due date. The Availability settings override any extra time accommodations.

Let’s walk through it together

Click to view in fullscreen

Add Accommodations to a Classic Quiz

  1. Go to MSU Denver’s Faculty and Staff Hub.
  2. Click Canvas in the Teaching & Learning section.
  3. Log in to your Canvas Account.
  4. Select the Course you’d like to work in.
  5. Click Modules on the course navigation menu to the left.
  6. Scroll to the Module where your Quiz is located.
  7. Click the Name of the classic quiz you wish to provide accommodations for.
    • Note: Classic Quizzes have a rocket icon that has a grey (unpublished) or green (published) outline with white inside, and New Quizzes have a solid grey (unpublished) or green (published) rocket icon.
  8. Click Moderate This Quiz.
  9. Find the Name of the student who requires accommodations.
  10. Click the Pencil Icon next to the student’s name.
    • Note: To provide the same accommodations for multiple students at once:
      1. Click the Checkboxes next to each of the students’ names.
      2. Click Change Extensions for [#] Selected Students.
  11. Type the Number of Extra Attempts the student will receive (if any) in the first box.
  12. Type the Number of Extra Minutes the student will receive (if any) in the second box (for timed quizzes only).
  13. Click Save.

Note: If you set Availability Dates for the quiz, they will take precedence over any accommodations. This can result in a student’s quiz being auto-submitted before their extended time accommodation has expired. To avoid this issue, use one of these two options:

  1. Do not set an availability window, or make the availability window long enough to include all accommodations. (This option also benefits students who encounter internet issues.)
  2. Create separate availability windows for students with extended time. To do this:
    1. Click the Name of the quiz to open it.
    2. Click Edit.
    3. Scroll down to the quiz’s Assign setting.
    4. Click + Add.
    5. Click the Assign To box in the new section that appears.
    6. Select the Name(s) of the student(s) who require accommodations.
    7. Set Availability Dates that provide enough time for the students.
    8. Click Save.

Add Accommodations to a New Quiz

  1. Go to MSU Denver’s Faculty and Staff Hub.
  2. Click Canvas in the Teaching & Learning section.
  3. Log in to your Canvas Account.
  4. Select the Course you’d like to work in.
  5. Click Modules on the course navigation menu to the left.
  6. Scroll to the Module where your Quiz is located.
  7. Click the Name of the new quiz you wish to provide accommodations for.
    1. Note: Classic Quizzes have a rocket icon that has a grey (unpublished) or green (published) outline with white inside, and New Quizzes have a solid grey (unpublished) or green (published) rocket icon.
  8. Scroll to the Bottom of the page.
  9. Click Build.
  10. Click Moderate from the menu at the top of the window.
  11. Find the Name of the student who requires accommodations.
    1. To enter time or attempt accommodations on just this one quiz:
      1. Click on the Moderate button next to the student’s name.
      1. Enter changes to the Number of Attempts or Time Adjustments, as appropriate.
      2. Click the X on the top left to close the window.
    2. To enter time adjustments for all course assessments for this student:
      1. Click on the Pencil Icon next to that student under the Accommodations column.
      2. Enter changes to Time Adjustments, as appropriate.
      3. Click Save.

Have questions?

Want help on this or other teaching and learning topics? Please visit us for drop-in support (10am-3pm, M-F) or try one of our self-help tutorials.

Looking for more? View related topics: