Create Seating Charts in Canvas

Last updated on September 5, 2025

The Roll Call feature in Canvas includes a tool you can use to create seating charts and share them with others. You can use this feature to comply with the Fall 2021 requirement that in-person instructors create and submit seating charts of their class; this is to facilitate contact tracing in the event of COVID-19 infection of a student.

Directions

1. Go to MSU Denver’s Faculty and Staff Hub.
2. Click Quick Links on the top right of the page.
3. Click Canvas from the menu options that appear.
4. Log in to your Canvas Account.
5. Select the Course you’d like to work in.

Enable Attendance Tools

If you can see Attendance in the left-hand navigation menu of your Canvas course, skip to the next section.

5. Click Settings in the left-hand course navigation menu.
6. Click Navigation in the tabs along the top of the page.
7. Scroll to Attendance.
   • It should be in the second list of deactivated features.
8. Click the More Options (3-dots) menu to the right of Attendance.
9. Click Enable.
10. Scroll to the bottom of the page.
11. Click Save.

Create Seating Chart

12. Click Attendance in the left-hand navigation menu.
13. Click Class in the top right-hand corner of the page, just above the date.
14. Click Edit Seating Chart in the top right-hand corner of the page, just below the date.
    • A list of all your students will appear on the left-hand side and an empty grid will appear on the right.
15. Click and drag each student into a square on the grid.
    • This works best if your classroom is arranged in a grid of desks. If you have a different layout, do your best to approximate the relative locations of students.
    • You will need to explain to your students that the university requires them to sit in the same seat each class to facilitate contact tracing.

Print/Create a PDF of your Seating Chart

16. Click Attendance in the left-hand navigation menu.
17. Click Class in the top right-hand corner of the page, just above the date.
18. Click Take Attendance in the top right-hand corner of the page, just below the date.
19. Press CTRL + P (Windows) or COMMAND + P (Mac) on your keyboard to print the page.
20. Print the Seating Chart. You can print to a PDF to create a digital copy that can easily be shared via email or a physical copy if you prefer.