Acceptable Use

By using Canvas, you agree to adhere to the University’s Policy on Acceptable Use of Electronic Resources.

Admins as Students

A Canvas administrator role provides a higher level of access to a Canvas site than a student should have, which can lead to academic integrity and/or FERPA violations. To prevent these issues, all Canvas administrators enrolling in Canvas courses as students must request a second account for their student activities. A non-persistent guest PennKey will be created for this purpose. 

To request a second account, please contact canvas@pobox.upenn.edu

Canvas Terms

In Canvas, a term is the length of time when a site is fully active.

All content in Canvas should adhere to Penn’s Policy on Unauthorized Copying of Copyrighted Media.

Copyrighted materials should be made available in Canvas through our electronic Course Reserves tool (Leganto). Some schools may also have additional tools available – please contact your LSP for details.

For more information about copyright or to schedule a meeting with an expert, see Copyright Resources to Support Publishing and Teaching.

Course Shopping Period

During the virtual course shopping period at the start of each semester, students can browse different courses in Canvas as they finalize their course selections.

Eligibility for Canvas Access

Users must have a PennKey in order to access Penn Canvas. If your course site will enroll users who are not affiliated with Penn and not eligible for a guest PennKey, Open Canvas for Penn Learners may be a better platform.

Learn more about access to Canvas for students and faculty.

End User License Agreements

An End User License Agreement (EULA) is an electronic agreement frequently used by software or online service providers, in which the “end user” of the software or online service must agree to certain terms and conditions before using the provider’s product or service. Often, EULAs are presented as a pop-up window or checkbox.

Certain tools integrated with Canvas may require users to agree to a EULA. If you have questions or concerns about agreeing to any EULAs associated with Canvas, please email the Courseware Team at canvas@pobox.upenn.edu

Non-Course or Special Use Sites

Acceptables uses of Canvas sites for non-course purposes may include:

  • Collaboration
  • Research (not including HIPAA-protected information)
  • Committees
  • Organizations
  • Workshops
  • Sandbox sites for testing purposes

The Penn Libraries Courseware Services team can create special use Canvas sites only under the following conditions:

  • All site users must have a PennKey.
  • The site owner provides a designated support person as a priority contact.
  • No HIPAA-protected information will be stored or shared via the site.
  • Enrollments are managed by a designated Tier 1 support person. A completed spreadsheet with all required information for account creation and enrollment must be submitted.
    • Required information includes: Full name, PennKey, Penn ID number, valid email address (Penn or non-Penn).
    • Courseware staff cannot look up user information for participants in special use sites. This information must be provided by the site owner or their designated support person.

To request a non-course or special use site, please email Canvas Support.

Privacy in the Electronic Environment

Student use of Canvas should adhere to the Code of Academic Integrity.

Student data in Canvas is subject to Penn’s policy on Confidentiality of Student Records, and where such information is not available to instructors through Canvas, the University Policy on Privacy in the Electronic Environment may also apply.

Where student data in Canvas may be relevant to a potential violation of the Code of Academic Integrity or another matter of student discipline, instructors are directed to contact the Center for Community Standards and Accountability (CSA).    

For schools that have their own disciplinary procedures for academic integrity, faculty are directed to contact the dean of their school for handling requests to access or investigate student data in Canvas. 

For information on how to contact the the Center for Community Standards and Accountability, please see Refer A Case/Request A Consultation.

Public Canvas Sites

Course visibility settings govern who may view your course site. By default, only users enrolled in a Canvas course site have access to the site. 

For all courses in UPenn Canvas, excluding GSE, PSOM, and Wharton courses, the visibility settings for a course can only be managed by Canvas Admins. By request, Admins can change the visibility settings of a course. There are three visibility settings:

  • Course (default): Limits access to enrolled students as well as to other members of the site (TAs, departmental support staff, informal auditors).
  • Institution: Allows any logged-in PennKey holder who has the link to your course site to view the content, but they cannot interact with or see students.
  • Public: Allows anyone with the link to your course site to view the content, but they cannot interact with or see students. Public users cannot submit assignments, nor can they take quizzes or access unpublished materials in Files. Please note, if your site is public, it is findable in search engines. 

Instructors still have the ability to publish their Canvas course sites, making them available to students. 

By making a site public, you are agreeing to adhere to Penn’s Policy on Acceptable Use of Electronic Resources and Penn’s Policy on Unauthorized Copying of Copyrighted Material and are taking full responsibility for this action.

Instructors who wish to make a site public should submit a request to their Local Support Provider or canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.

For questions regarding this policy or public Canvas sites, please contact canvas@pobox.upenn.edu.

Storage Space in Canvas

Every Penn Canvas site has a file storage quota. Learn how to manage your storage space.

Student API Token Generation

Beginning in 2025, Penn no longer permits student creation of API tokens in Canvas in order to minimize security and data privacy risks and ensure compliance with the University’s Policy on Acceptable Use of Electronic Resources.