Skip to main content
To KTH's start page

Sections in Canvas

Sections helps dividing students within a course and allows section specific options. For example, having different due dates for assignments, discussions and quiz. You as a teacher will also see which sections the students belong to under People and in the Gradebook. Students will see which sections they belong to unless you choose to hide it.

Sections divide course rooms in Canvas

Participants in course rooms in Canvas can be divided up in several different “Sections” which are useful for example to have two seperate courses in the same course room, or to simplify the management of larger courses. Each sections can have their own availability periods for assignments, discussions and quizzes, and create different calendar events or have different teacher for different sections. You as a teacher can also choose if the students only can see those in the same section, or if they can see everyone in the course room.

Shared course material, seperated students

Sections are mainly used when participants in a course room require access to the same course material, but at different times or if it will be used in different ways. They can also be used to simplify the administration for teachers.

In normal course rooms all students are added to the same sections by default, as most course rooms do not require more than one section. However, examination rooms are created with two sections, one for students withour compensatory support and one section for students with compensatory support from Funka. The two sections in the examination room simplifies the process for teachers to extend the exam time only students with compensatory support from Funka.

Examples of different use cases for sections:

  • Splitting a large course with one teacher per section.
  • Adding different years to the same course room to simplify administration.
  • Create groups for group assignments with individual submissions.

Creating sections

Group assignments with the Group function

If you plan to create group assignments in Canvas, the groups function is usually the best tool. With groups, students get their own spaces in Canvas for group work and they submit group assignments as a group, not individually. It is possible to choose between assessing the assignments as a group or individually.

You can create groups without having to contact IT.

Read more about Groups and group assignments in Canvas .

Due to legal reasons (according to the higher education ordinance), sections must be handled by administrative staff, which is why the function groups is mainly recommended for grouping students. However, groups does not fulfill all the needs that sections fulfill.

If you wish to create sections in your course, contact it-support@kth.se  with the following information:

  • What course it is about.
  • What name the sections should have.
  • Which students are to be included in which section.

The section or the sections will then be created shortly.

Note! If sections are created before all students have registered for the course, the unregistered students can remain even after the deadline for course registration. Since unregistered students are not allowed to have access to the course after the deadline, you need to contact IT support to remove students who remain. Or you make sure to create sections only after all students have registered.