How do I add an appointment group in a course calendar?
If Scheduler is enabled for your institution and you are an instructor, you can create appointment groups in the Scheduler. Appointment groups create a block of time where students can meet with you. Students can sign up for appointment times in their own calendars. You can also allow observers to sign up.
Appointments display in your calendar after a student or group has reserved a time slot. Appointment details are also included when you export the calendar using the Calendar feed.
Notes:
- If user participation is limited to dates between the course start and end dates, Scheduler events cannot be edited or deleted after the date the course ends.
- The Scheduler tool is optional. If it is not already enabled for your account, please contact your Canvas administrator.
- When an instructor or TA creates an appointment group for an entire course, all course section users can view the appointment group. However, if an appointment group is made for a specific section or is added by a section-restricted instructor or TA, only users in that section can view the appointment group.
Open Calendar
In Global Navigation, click the Calendar link.
Add Event
In the Calendars list, click the checkbox for the calendar in which you want to add the appointment group [1]. Appointment groups can be added to multiple calendars.
Click any date on the calendar to add an event [2]. Or, click the arrows next to the month name to navigate to a different month [3] and select a date.
If you don't want to manually locate the date, you can click the Add icon [4].
Open Appointment Group
Click the Appointment Group tab.
Create Name and Location
Type the name of the appointment in the name field [1]. Type the location of the appointment in the location field [2].
Select Calendars
Click the Select Calendars button [1]. To select the course(s) or section(s) where you want to show the appointment group, click the checkbox next to the course name or section name [2]. To close the Calendar list, click the Done button [3].
If you want to select certain sections from your course, click the arrow icon [4].
Notes:
- The calendar cannot be modified once the appointment group is saved. However, additional calendars can be added to the original appointment group.
- If the course or section you want to select does not display in the Select Calendars list, return to the calendar and click the checkbox for the course or section in the Calendars list.
Allow Group Signup
If you have created at least one group set in your course, you can have students sign up in groups by clicking the Have students sign up in groups checkbox [1]. Then select the name of the group category you want to use for the group signup [2].
Note: The groups option is only available if you previously selected the calendar for the entire course. You cannot select a calendar for a specific section because Canvas does not currently support sections in groups.
Allow Observer Signup
To allow observers to sign-up for appointments, click the Allow observers to sign-up checkbox.
Note: You can only allow observers to sign up if your admin has enabled the Allow observers to sign-up for appointments when enabled by the teacher option in account Settings.
Set Appointment Time Range
Enter the date of the appointment in the Date field [1]. You can also select a date by clicking the Calendar icon.
Set the time range for the appointment by typing in the Time Range field [2]. You must include at least one time slot.
You can split the time range into multiple time slots by entering the division length into the slots field [3]. For instance, if you want to create 15-minute meeting times from 2:00 pm until 5:00 pm, enter the number 15.
To create the time slots, click the Go button [4].
Modify Appointment Times
You can manually change any appointment time created by the division. If you want to remove an appointment time, click the Remove icon.
Notes:
- The appointment date, time range, and appointment slots cannot be modified after the appointment group is saved. However, additional dates, time ranges, and appointment slots can be added to the original appointment group.
- You must create at least one time slot for each appointment group.
Set Appointment Options
You can limit the number of users who can sign up for a time slot by clicking the Limit each time slot checkbox and typing the number of time slots in the limit field [1]. If you selected the option to have students sign up in groups, this field reads as Limit each time slot for x groups.
To make the appointment slots public to students in the course, click the Allow students to see who has signed up for time slots that are still available checkbox [2]. Selecting this option also allows students to see comments other students add to their appointments.
If you want to limit the number of appointments available, click the Limit participants to attend [number] appointment(s) checkbox [3].
Note: When using the group sign-up option, only one group member needs to sign up for a time slot on behalf of their group. Each member in the group will see the appointment on their own group calendar.
Add Appointment Details
If you want to add details about the appointment group, enter them in the Details field.
Publish Appointment Group
Click Publish button.
View Calendar
View the appointment dates and times in your course calendar. Students can reserve time slots. Observers, if allowed, can also reserve time slots. Time slots that have been reserved by users display as a solid color.
Note: If you added an appointment group to more than one course, appointment slots only display in the calendar for the first course shown in the appointment group.
