Updates, changes, and/or new features native to Canvas (not LTIs); broadly applicable Canvas info and announcements.
To create a consistent experience for instructors, due date syncing has been enabled for Gradescope Assignments in Canvas. Due dates for newly created Gradescope Assignments can now only be edited in Canvas.
Please see our September 16 blog post for details.
If you have any questions, please contact canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.
Penn will be upgrading to the new version of iThenticate, iThenticate 2.0, on Wednesday, October 21, 2026.
On this date, access to our current version of iThenticate will end. IThenticate users should plan for:
After October 21, our current version of iThenticate will be disabled and all users will access
past similarity reports and make future submissions via iThenticate 2.0.
If you have any questions or require assistance, please email canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.
On October 1, 2026, due date syncing to Canvas will be enabled in Gradescope. Once enabled, instructors will need to edit linked assignment due dates in Canvas after creation and won’t be able to edit the assignment due date in Gradescope. Instructors will see the following message for the Due Date field in Gradescope: “Due date can only be changed in the LMS.”
This change is intended to create a consistent experience for instructors as Gradescope assignment titles already sync to Canvas.
If you have any questions, please contact canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.
The following information will introduce you to notable changes in Canvas for Fall 2026. If you haven’t used Canvas in the past year, we recommend reviewing What’s New in Canvas Spring 2026.
Want to learn more about Assignments and Grading in Canvas? See our upcoming Canvas Workshops in September.
For additional help and support, please email canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.
We have now enabled Enhanced Rubrics, as mentioned in our blog post from July 30.
The new enhancements bring an updated user interface that allows for easier creation, streamlined management across courses, and new display options for Instructors.
Please review Adding Rubrics on the Creating Assignments page for guidance that includes these changes.
Questions? Email canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.
Starting on August 17, 2026, you will notice a change to the layout and capabilities of the Rubrics area in Canvas as we upgrade to Enhanced Rubrics. Current rubrics for your courses will appear in this new layout with no additional action on your part. The classic version of Rubrics will no longer be available.
Enhanced Rubrics bring an updated user interface that allows for easier creation, streamlined management across courses, and new display options for Instructors. The view and experience will remain essentially unchanged for students.
Please see Rubric Management to view a step-by-step video on the new features as well as how to create an enhanced rubric from scratch.
For assistance with enhanced rubrics, contact your Local Support Provider or submit a request to canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.
Canvas operates on a monthly release cycle through which features are added or updated. Courseware Support posts highlights from Canvas’s production release notes, a link to these notes, and other relevant content to the Canvas at Penn a few days before the production release, which usually occurs on Saturdays. Please contact Courseware Support at canvas@pobox.upenn.edu if you have any questions about an upcoming production release.
Notebook- Student With this feature option enabled, students can highlight text on Pages directly within their course content. They can mark content as Unclear or Important, add notes, and manage their entries from a dedicated Notebook page in Course Navigation. Notes will only be accessible to the student as long as they have access to the course, and they cannot be exported. The feature is only available on Pages and will not work on embedded content such as PDFs or Word documents.
For more details, please see the release notes. This feature will be enforced for all users on August 15, 2026.
The feature above is currently opt-in. Local Service Providers (LSPs) should contact canvas@pobox.upenn.edu to enable this feature in their subaccounts. Instructors should contact their LSP to see if the feature is available for their courses.
Canvas Production Release Notes: July 18, 2026
We have now enabled Performance and Usability Upgrades for SpeedGrader, as mentioned in our blog post from June 16.
The new enhancements include an updated drop down menu for sections, refreshed states for “No Submission” and “Empty Course,” alignment with the grade status selector, consistency with rubric display, and improved comment attachment workflow.
Please review Using SpeedGrader for guidance that includes these changes.
Questions? Email canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.
Performance and Usability Upgrades for SpeedGrader will be enabled at Penn on July 2.
Most of the changes are minor, with minimal tweaks to grading workflow and the look and feel of the feature.
These enhancements include:
On July 2, our Using SpeedGrader guide will be updated. For more details, please read the vendor’s documentation. We will post again when the feature goes live.
If you have any questions, please email us at canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.
The Courseware Team is resharing the message below from Russ Composto, Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and Kelly Jordan-Sciutto, Vice Provost for Graduate Education:
“As of this morning, access to Canvas was restored for the Penn community. We ask that all instructors consider the following:
Instructors are encouraged to be proactive in communicating with their students about any impacts of the Canvas disruption on their courses and contact their schools with any questions.”
