Canvas Shells

All About Canvas Shells

Canvas Shells at a Glance

Canvas shell types
Shell Type	Abbreviation	Template	File Storage Quota	Visibility Duration	Student Enrollments	Course Associate Roles	Deliver Content	Request Process
Practice Shells	PRAC_	Yes	1 GB	TBD	None	None	No	Upon Request via Support.
Development Shells	DEV_	No (by default); can be added upon request	2 GB (semester/half-year), 3 GB (full-year)	TBD	None	Upon request via Support	No	Upon Request via Support or ORCA.
Live Shells		Yes	2 GB (semester/half-year), 3 GB (full-year)	Last late grading date of each semester	Yes	Added via ORCA	Yes	Automatically Provisioned

Please note that Texas A&M's Canvas storage quota will not be increased per LMS Governance. Additional storage options are available.

Canvas Shell Typologies

Practice Shells

Practice Shells (PRAC) should be used to experiment with advanced Canvas features and tools to create content, assignments, discussions, and quizzes. Practice shells do not have any associated student enrollments and cannot be used to deliver course content. The Texas A&M University template has been applied to all practice shells. To request a development shell, please use our support options with the current semester course name and number. The TAMU template may be added upon request.

Development Shells

Development Shells can be used to develop course content and copy content from a previous semester. Development shells do not have any associated student enrollments and cannot be used to deliver course content. These shells will NOT have the TAMU course template and will be blank upon creation. 

Instructors of Record can request up to two development shells per term through LMS Support. Please note that these terms do not correspond with an academic year (ex: Fall 2025); rather, they are by general term and are associated with the instructor’s UIN. Dev shell codes include DEV1 (Spring), DEV2 (Summer), DEV3 (Fall), and DEV4 (Full-Year). The developmental shell information will be as follows:

SIS ID = Subject.CourseNumber.InstructorUIN.DEVX.X (ex: ACCT.100.123456789.DEV3.1)
Course Title = Term Subject Course Number Development Course X (Instructor Name) (ex: Fall ACCT 100 Development Course 1 (Instructor Name)

To request a development shell, please use the self-service feature in ORCA or reach out to LMS Support and include the following information:

Are you the primary instructor?
What term(s) are you requesting?
Will you need additional enrollments into your Development Shell?
If so, what are the individuals' UINs and requested roles (TA, Course Designer, Etc.)?
The current TAMU template may be added upon request. Will you like for us to add the TAMU Template?

Some things to consider:

Dev courses will be accessible to instructors for the duration of their employment at the university.
Development shells are created for course numbers only, not for individual section numbers.

Live Shells

Live Shells should be used to teach your course. This shell will receive student enrollments from Compass. You will need to publish your live shell for students to see it. Please note that students do not have access to the course until the first day of the term.

TAMU Course Definitions

Combined Course

Course with multiple sections combined into a single course in Canvas.

Example of what an instructor will see in Canvas:

Combined course
Canvas Dashboard
26 SUMMER CHEM 111 501-504: BASIC CHEMISTRY

Stacked Course

Undergraduate and graduate level course and sections or honors and non-honors courses from the same department combined into a single course in Canvas.

Example of what an instructor will see in Canvas:

Stacked course
Canvas Dashboard
26 SUMMER AGED 401,601 700: AGRICULTURAL ETHICS

Cross-Listed Course

Multiple courses and sections from different colleges or departments, combined into a single course in Canvas.

Example of what an instructor will see in Canvas:

Cross-listed course
Canvas Dashboard
26 SUMMER PHIL 115, HIST 107, RELS 121: PHILOSOPHY AND RELIGION