Canvas is Virginia Tech's learning management system (LMS). Students use Canvas to access learning materials, like assignments, quizzes, feedback, and grades.

• Official courses are automatically created in students' Canvas accounts.
• Canvas provides 24-7 support by phone (833-639-7621) and chat (click Help on any Canvas screen).

The Canvas Student Guide has full instructions on using Canvas. These instructions are specific to Virginia Tech.

Contents

• Canvas Is the Wrong Color
• I'm Missing a Canvas Course Site
• I'm Missing All My Canvas Course Sites
• Course Files Ran out of Storage
• Troubleshooting Respondus
• Script Blocker Problems
• Getting Help

Instructions

Canvas Is the Wrong Color

If Canvas is not Virginia Tech's maroon and orange, the High Contrast UI might be enabled. The High Contrast UI can also prevent some Canvas tools from appearing. To disable the high contrast UI:

1. Log into Canvas.
2. Click Account, then Settings.
3. Scroll down to Feature Options.
4. Below Feature Options and next to High Contrast UI, click the checkmark, then click disable to turn off High Contrast UI.

   

5. Refresh your browser.

Top of page

I'm Missing a Canvas Course Site

1. Check the All Courses menu by clicking Courses -> All Courses to see if your course is there. 
2. Make sure your course gets a Canvas site. If your course doesn't get an official Canvas site, your instructor may create a draft/manual course site. Check with your instructors if you have questions about this. Per department request, the following courses don't get Canvas sites: 
   
   • 5904 and 6904 (graduate project and report) courses
   • 5964, 6864, 7864, 7944, X974 (independent study) courses
   • X994 (undergraduate research) courses
   • VTC, VCOM, and REG courses
3. Check your Registration and Schedule on HokieSPA to make sure you're enrolled in the course. 
   
   • If you recently added a course, wait a half day for it to appear in Canvas. 
   • If you're missing all of your courses, see I'm Missing All My Course Sites.
4. If you still don't see the site, contact 4Help by clicking Get Help on the 4Help portal.

Top of page

I'm Missing All My Canvas Course Sites

Blocks and holds cause you to lose all your Canvas sites for the current semester. 

Bursar Block

To check for a bursar block, see: Registration Holds. Courses should reappear within a half day of clearing the block. 

COVID-19 and Other Holds 

To check for a hold: 

1. Log in to Hokie SPA.
2. Click the HokieSPA tab. 
3. Click Registration (Add/Drop) and Schedule. 
4. Click Prepare for Registration. 
5. Choose the current term. 
6. Under Registration Status is a checklist of requirements for registration. Holds will appear at the bottom of the checklist. 

• If you have a COVID-19 hold, go to the COVID-19 Canvas site and follow the instructions. The site will be on your Courses menu. 
• If you have another type of hold, contact your academic advisor. 

Top of page

Course Files Ran out of Storage

Do not use Canvas Files to store videos and audio files. Instead, use My Media and Media Gallery, which have unlimited storage. See Video Content Management - How to Use My Media and Media Gallery (for Students). 

To request more storage space for non-video/audio content, contact 4Help by clicking Get Help on the 4Help portal.

Top of page

Troubleshooting Respondus

Top of page

Script Blocker Problems

Canvas uses JavaScript. However, browser security settings or security suite software increasingly block JavaScript by default. If JavaScript is blocked, Canvas will not appear and function correctly, for example: 

• The Canvas Dashboard shows flashing courses.
• Clicking Help and Courses do not show the menus.
• Clicking Assignments, Announcements, Discussions, Grades go to a blank page.
• The +Guests button doesn't appear in People.
• Videos in Files don't automatically play.
• SPOT doesn't appear on menus.
• Kaltura videos won't play.
• Instructors can't add files to Canvas. 
• Students can't upload files to Assignments.

To fix browser and script blocker problems:

1. Check/update your browser. We recommend using an updated version of Google Chrome. 
   
   1. Click [...] in the upper-right corner of your browser.
   2. Click Help->About Google Chrome.
   3. An automatic update may start. When it finishes, click Relaunch.
   4. To update, see Update Google Chrome.
2. Check the Canvas URL.
   
   1. Click your Canvas bookmark in Chrome. Make sure it links to https://canvas.vt.edu, not the Instructure URL. If it links to the Instructure URL, update it to link to https://canvas.vt.edu. 
   2. If tools are malfunctioning in Canvas, check and make sure the URL is https://canvas.vt.edu. If not, go to https://canvas.vt.edu.
3. Bypass/clear your browser's cache.
   
   1. To bypass the cache, go to the Canvas page where you should see the link to the LTI tool. Hold the Shift key while clicking the browser's refresh button.
   2. To clear the cache, see Clearing Browser Cache.
4. Whitelist Canvas URLs in your script blocker; set your script blocker to allow JavaScript from Canvas and related URLs. 
   
   1. Go to your script blocker's settings for trusting/allowing/unblocking/whitelisting websites. Instructions for common script blockers:
      
      • NoScript Features
      • Adblock Plus - Getting Started
      • U-Block - How to Whitelist a Website
      • ScriptSafe Documentation
      • Symantec Security Suite - Configure Norton Internet Security
      • AVG - How to exclude files, folders or websites from AVG scanning
   2. Set your script blocker to trust/allow/unblock/whitelist the following Canvas-related URLs:
      
      • vt.edu
      • instructure.com
      • amazonaws.com
      • canvas-user-content.com
      • inscloudgate.net
      • kaltura.com
      • ops.cielo24.com
      • evaluationkit.com
      • cloudfront.net
      • jquery.com
      • bootstrapcdn.com
      • iclicker.com 
      • smc-service-cloud.respondus2.com

Top of page

Getting Help

For instructions on resolving common issues with Canvas, see:

• Troubleshooting Canvas (For Students)
• Recommended Browser Privacy and Security Settings for Canvas

Instructure, the creators of Canvas, provide 24-7 Canvas support, including live chat and a support hotline. 

To get Canvas help, click Help on any Canvas screen and choose from help options:

• Search the Canvas Guides: Search Canvas documentation.
• Chat with Canvas Support: Open a chat window in Canvas (or call the phone number).
• Contact Virginia Tech 4Help: Submit an incident on the 4Help portal or call 540-231-4357.
• Report a Problem: Submit a Canvas support case by filling out a short form.
• Ask the Community: Go to Canvas user community resources. 
• Submit a Feature Idea: Search a list of current feature idea conversations. Add to an existing conversation or start your own!
• Browse Virginia Tech Resources: See other Canvas Knowledge Base articles.

Top of page