Cross-Listing Courses in Canvas

Cross-listing in Canvas is the combination of two or more sections into a single Canvas course. This article reviews what cross-listing does and how to request your courses be cross-listed.

Audience

This article is intended for faculty.

Platform

Canvas LMS

Reasons to Cross-List

Reason to cross-list may include:

  • Multiple sections of the same course
  • A single course that is listed in two departments
  • A course listed as both undergraduate and graduate

Requesting Support for Cross-Listing 

For the fastest response, we recommend that you contact the 24/7 Canvas Support line (either via Chat or Hotline number listed in the Canvas Help Menu).

Be prepared with:

  • URL of the target course
  • URL for each course you want to be merged into the target course
  • Updated name of the merged course (e.g. Music Theory 01-02). Make sure the name of the course is recognizable and clear to students from all sections
  • Distinct names for each of the original course sections (e.g. Section 01 and Section 02)

If you submit a request through the IT Service Desk or Learning Technology Help Request, response time may be delayed up to 48 hours during normal working hours.

Alternatives to Cross Listing

If you want to keep the sections separate for any reason, you may maintain separate courses and simply copy content from one course to another.

Please refer to the following articles reviewing the Course Import Tool, how to use the Course Import Tool, and selecting specific content to import into a course.

What is the Course Import Tool?
How do I copy a Canvas course into a new course shell?
How do I select specific content as part of a course import?

Using Sections in a Cross-Listed Course

Course section enrollments are maintained after cross-listing, meaning students from each merged course are still in independent sections within the course. This provides the ability to assign Announcements, Quizzes, and Discussions to independent sections.