How to Add and Manage Calendar Events in Canvas

At a Glance

Canvas calendar events are not automatically created. Teaching teams must create and manage these events using the instructions below. Students rely on the Canvas calendar to know when and where their classes meet, so please ensure it is always accurate.

In this guide for teaching teams, you’ll learn how to add and manage calendar events in your course in Canvas.

Please note the following:

• If your course has multiple sections, you must create separate recurring events for each section.
• If a section meets on multiple days per week, you must create a separate recurring event for each day.
  • For example, if Section A meets on Mondays and Wednesdays:
    • Create a recurring event for Section A on Mondays.
    • Create another recurring event for Section A on Wednesdays.

Add Calendar Events

1. In your Canvas course, click on Settings in the Course Navigation Menu.
   
2. Click on Course Calendar in the right-hand side bar.
   
3. Click the Add icon.
   
4. On the Edit Event pop-up window, click the More Options button.
   
5. Enter a title [1] and description (optional) [2] for the event.
   • Naming Conventions for Sloan courses: Course number – Section # – Course Title (e.g. 15.XYZ – Section A – Intro to Marketing).
     
6. Click the Use a different date for each section checkbox.
   
7. Enter a date, time, and location:
   • Select a date by clicking the Calendar icon [1], and specify the start and end time.
     
     • IMPORTANT: If your course has multiple sections, only fill in the Date and Time fields for the section you are scheduling for. Leave all other sections blank.
   • Enter a location:
     • If the section is remote, type Remote into the Location field [2].
     • If the section is in-person, type the room number into the Location field (e.g. E62-233) [2].
       • IMPORTANT: Do NOT include Zoom meeting information in the calendar event. Students should access Zoom meetings from the Zoom app in Canvas. This ensures they have the correct link and are properly authenticated into the meeting.
8. Duplicate the event (optional):
   • Click the Duplicate checkbox.
     
   • By default, events are set to repeat every week [1]. If you want to change the repeating event to daily or monthly, click the Week(s) drop-down menu and select your preferred time range. You may also have to change the number that precedes the time period.
     
   • By default, events are set to create one occurrence [2], meaning it will create the initial event plus one additional (two total events). If you want to change the number of additional occurrences, enter the number in the text field.
     • IMPORTANT: You can create a series of events at once using “Duplicate”, but you can only edit or delete events one at at time after they are created.
   • Leave the Number each event checkbox blank [3].
9. Click the Create Event button.
   
10. On the Warning dialog box, click Continue.
    
11. Repeat Steps 3-10 for each unique recurring event.
12. View the events in your course calendar. Each section will have a separate calendar event.
    
13. Confirm your class events are correct. This includes accounting for holidays. Learn how to delete or edit single events.