Spring Courses Available in Learning Management Systems

November 17, 2020
Dear Course Instructors,

All Spring 2021 courses have now been loaded in both Canvas and eCampus. Courses in Canvas are unpublished and courses in eCampus are inactive. Per the Provost’s email on June 29, 2020, the expectation is that all course instructors communicate to students in the syllabus which learning management system (LMS) will be used to teach each course. We encourage you to select one LMS to use per course to avoid confusion for your students.   IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE CANVAS FOR SPRING:
When you log into Canvas you will see two new course shells: your live Spring 2021 shell and a practice shell. Learn more about Live and Practice shells. You are also enrolled in a self-paced training course Growing with Canvas.

• ORCA is now live (Online Request Course Administration portal). Please note the ORCA website should be accessed using desktop browsers at this time.
  • New for the Spring 2021 semester, ORCA is where you will request section merges.
  • Requests for courses needing to be combined, stacked, or cross-listed for the January 19, 2021 Spring start of term must be received by 11:59 PM on January 11, 2021 via ORCA to take effect in Canvas. You should not publish your course until these actions have been applied. Click here for the definitions of these types of courses.
  • Additional functionality of ORCA is forthcoming. We will provide a roadmap in the coming weeks.
• To associate additional course roles in Canvas (TA, Grader, Designer, etc.) please contact your Department Scheduler to assign via Compass. The manual process that caused users to experience a delay during the Fall semester now runs on an automated process with feeds running three times a day from Compass to Canvas. For Spring, course instructors will see associated roles in Canvas courses in a more timely manner.
• Minimum Syllabus Requirements in their updated and approved form are integrated into the template that has been applied to all course shells in Canvas. Find the Spring 2021 Minimum Syllabus Requirements under the Syllabus button on your course homepage.
  • Explore the Template in Canvas.
  • Export your Syllabus from Canvas to upload to Howdy.
• Zoom in Canvas allows your students to have access to meeting links and recordings in one centralized location. We encourage you to use this integration.
• Our Training and Support tab provides up-to-date tips and tricks for using Canvas, as well as specialized trainings and links to our daily virtual office hours.

IF YOU CHOOSE TO USE eCAMPUS FOR SPRING:
When you log into eCampus you will see your live course for Spring 2021.

• Requests for Development courses need to be made through eCampus Tools.
• Requesting courses be combined, stacked, or cross-listed for the Spring semester will be completed by the Office for Academic Innovation.  
• Requesting additional members be added to your course (i.e. TAs, Alternative Instructors, etc.) for the Spring semester will be completed through eCampus Tools.  
• Zoom in eCampus allows your students to have access to meeting links and recordings in one centralized location. We encourage you to use this integration.

As a reminder, Spring 2021 will be the last long semester that eCampus is available for use. For additional support, contact the Office for Academic Innovation Service Desk by emailing aihelp@tamu.edu or calling (979) 458-3417.