Course Site Availability

NOTE: Starting in the Winter 2021 semester, all course sites created within Brightspace will be activated automatically.

Course site activation status controls the visibility of the course site to students enrolled in that course. If a course site is active, students can see it in Brightspace under their list of courses. If a course site is inactive, students cannot see the course on the list. The course activation status can be changed by the instructor (see below).

While the activation status determines course visibility, student access to materials and assessments in the course site (i.e. to content, assignments, discussions etc.) is controlled by the Start Date and End Date set for the course. These dates are set automatically based on course information from Banner, and they typically extend from the first day of classes to the last day of the exam period. However, instructors can override these dates if they wish to make a course site available early or extend access past the exam period.

Below you can find instructions for how to change the activation status and the start and end dates for a course.

NOTE: The course site activation status overrides the start and end dates. That is, if the Start Date and End Date are set correctly but the course is set to ‘Inactive‘, the course is not accessible to students.

> Changing Your Course Site Activation Status

If you would like to change the activation status of your course site, follow the steps below.

  1. In Brightspace, locate the course you want to activate or deactivate.
  2. In the top navigation bar, select Course Admin.
Course navigation bar (navbar)
  1. On the ‘Course Administration’ page, select Course Offering Information.
‘Course Offering Information’ option
  1. Scroll down to a section titled Active. Check or uncheck the box next to Course is active.
Activation status box
  1. Click Save at the bottom of the page to change your course’s activation status.

> Changing Your Course Start and End Dates

NOTE: Providing early or extended access to a course site in Brightspace does not change the official start or end dates for the course.

To change the course start and end dates, follow the steps below.

  1. Log in to Brightspace and locate your course.
  2. In the top navigation bar, select Course Admin.
Course navigation bar (navbar)
  1. On the ‘Course Administration’ page, select Course Offering Information.
‘Course Offering Information’ option
  1. Scroll to the Start and End Date section of the page.
  2. Click on the date box under Start Date to open a calendar. Select the date and time you want the course site to become available to students.
  3. Repeat with the End Date.
Setting Start and End Dates for a course
  1. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

> Date Change Considerations

Extended access to a course site may be desired for various reasons, such as giving students time to become oriented with Brightspace prior to the start of the course. However, please note that providing early or extended access to a course site in Brightspace does not change the official start or end dates for the course.

Instructors will take full responsibility for providing extended course site access by:

  • Ensuring the course is in a ready state for students. For online courses managed by CITL this includes:
    • Ensuring all course changes are complete: changes in curriculum, textbook lists, setup of Brightspace and external tools, etc.;
    • Notifying CITL course maintenance staff.
  • Changing the course site start and/or end date;
  • Notifying students;
  • Obtaining copyright clearance for the required duration.

Extended access dates should be communicated to students at regular intervals prior to and during the extended access period. A notice should be posted in the Announcements tool within the Brightspace course site. In addition, it is recommended that instructors use the Email Class List function in Memorial Self Service as students may not yet be accessing Brightspace during the extended access period.

We recommend that course syllabi reflect the standard semester duration, and existing academic regulations apply to courses with an extended access period. Students shall not be required to access course sites during the extended period, or be disadvantaged if they do not access the course site before or after the official start or end date respectively.