Open Access for Individual Student to Finalize Incomplete Grade

Last updated on July 10, 2026

Working with a student who has an incomplete grade in a Canvas course creates some complications. By default, Canvas will make the course inaccessible to students at the scheduled end of the semester. If you have a student with an incomplete, you can set the course to allow students to access it even after the end date.

Unfortunately, you cannot allow access to just that one student. The entire class will have access to the course until the extended course availability ends. Reactivating the course will also put the course back in all students’ list of available courses.

Continue reading to learn how to give individual students access to assignments and quizzes.

Directions

This video is outdated. Please see written tutorial for updated instructions. New Video Coming

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.

Extend the Course Availability Date

1. Click on Settings on the left hand navigation menu, should be the last option.
   • Make sure you are in the “Course Details” tab.
2. Scroll down the page until you see the End date field.
3. Click on the Calendar icon in the text box.
4. Select the Date you would like the course to end.
   • Note: This is the date that students will no longer be able to submit work.
5. Click Update Course Details on the bottom right hand corner.

Give Individual Student Access to Assignments and Quizzes

1. Click Modules from the left-hand course navigation menu.
2. Locate the Specific Assignment you would like to send to your student.
3. Click on the Assignment Title to open it.
4. Click Edit at the top right of the screen.
5. Scroll down to the Assign Access section of the assignment settings.
   • Note: If you only want an individual student to have access to the assignment, verify that the Until date in the Assign To window has already passed.
6. Click + Assign To below the Assign To window.
7. Type Student’s Name under Assign To, and select their name when it appears in the drop-down menu.
   • Note: If you are granting access to more than one student, you may enter multiple names in the text box.
8. Enter a new Due Date and Until Date.
   • The Due Date will add the assignment to the student’s To Do list, while the Until Date is the last day the assignment will be available for the student to submit work.
9. Click Save at the bottom right of the screen.

Have questions?

Need additional support 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. 

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