Are you ready and prepared for Summer session but already wishing you could spend time in the sun instead of manually allocating students to assessment groups? This could just be the feature you have been waiting for!

Canvas has recently implemented the function to import a CSV file to manually create groups in a group set. This feature allows you to download a CSV file including information for each student currently enrolled. By assigning a group name to a student, you can now move students to their assessment group. Here’s how it’s done:

1. Create the Group Set

Go to the People tab in the Navigation pane and create a new Group Set as usual. While creating the set, make sure you select the option to manually create groups in the group structure options. Once created, your Group Set will be visible in a linked tab on the People page for easy access. Here you will see the new ‘+Import’ button and click to work with your very own CSV file.

2. Download the CSV file

The Import Groups page allows you to download the student list for your subject. Click the ‘Download Course Roster CSV’ link to download the editable template file.

3. Allocate your students

The Course Roster CSV includes information for each student in your subject. To assign students to a group, enter the intended group name for a student in the ‘group_name’ column of the file. Once you’re finished editing, save the file as CSV.

4. Upload the CSV file

Back on the Import Groups page, you can upload your CSV file easily by dragging and dropping your file onto the rocket launch area or click the field to brows files on your computer.

5. View groups

While the CSV file is imported, you can monitor the status of the group creation within the Group Set where a progress bar will be displayed. Once the process is finalised, you can see the groups and navigate them as usual.

Discover our ‘Group work and student collaboration’ collection

For more information on this topic, head to our new and improved Groups in Canvas resource within our five-page Group work and student collaboration collection, where you can find the full range of possibilities needed to create your Canvas Groups successfully.

Image by Tommy Pixel from Pixabay 

Join the discussion