Canvas: Requesting a Course Shell

Canvas is Arizona State University’s learning management system (LMS) used to organize course content, communicate with students, and manage assessment and feedback. Instructors use Canvas to build course sites, share syllabi and announcements, collect student work, and post grades in a secure, centrally supported environment that ensures consistency and accessibility for students across courses.

Canvas course shells at ASU are created through the Canvas Enrollment System (CES). Canvas courses are not created automatically, so instructors must request their course shell before building content or making the course available to students. Requesting your course early gives you time to design, test, and refine your course before the term begins.

Important Things to Know Before You Order

Before submitting a request, it’s worth thinking through a few details up front. These choices affect how your course is set up and are easiest to address during the request process.

• Combined or cross-listed sections: If multiple sections should live in a single Canvas course (for example, cross-listed courses or combined iCourse and oCourse sections), request only one Canvas shell and include all relevant SLNs.
• Required Canvas integrations: If your course needs access to a specific LTI or third-party tool (such as Harmonize, Yellowdig, or similar tools), note that request in the Special Instructions field.
• Copying content from a previous course: If you want your new course shell populated with content from a previous Canvas course, you can select a course to copy during the request process. If you're not ready to choose a source course, you can always import content later using Canvas's Import Existing Content tool. See our guide: Canvas: Importing Content from Another Course.

Unsure what to request?

If you’re not sure which option fits your situation, feel free to email [email protected] before placing an order. We’re happy to help you think through your options, and a quick check-in ahead of time can save work later.

What to Request

CES offers three main options for requesting Canvas courses:

• Request a new Canvas course. For a scheduled class with a 5-digit Section Line Number (SLN). Student rosters sync automatically and continue to update throughout the term. These courses are archived after a set period (currently two years after course completion).
• Request a Canvas training / development / organization course. For non–SLN-based use cases such as course design, training, or internal work. These shells are not tied to student rosters and are not archived, so they are suitable for ongoing work. The three course types function similarly but are categorized for clarity:
  • Training Course (TRN): Used for training or workshops. No roster is attached. Enrollment is managed manually by the instructor.
  • Development Course (DEV): Used to design and test content, or to build materials that will later be copied into a live (SLN-based) course.
  • Organization Course (ORG): Used for ASU faculty, student, or staff organizations. No roster is attached; enrollment is managed manually by the instructor.
• Request multiple course creation: Allows you to submit a CSV file to request multiple Canvas courses at once. Recommended only for advanced users or bulk course creation needs.

How to Request a Course

The most direct way to request a Canvas shell for an upcoming course is through the Canvas Enrollment System (CES). At a high level, the process looks like this:

1. Navigate to the Canvas Enrollment System: https://ces.apps.asu.edu/.
2. Select Request a new Canvas course and click Start.

3. Choose the appropriate term and enter the 5-digit SLN.

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4. Review and edit course details such as the course name and course code
5. Use the Course Copy option to indicate whether you want to copy content from a previous Canvas course. (Note: You can skip this step. Content can be copied using the Import Course Content tool at a later time.)
6. Include any required technology integrations in the Special Instructions field.
   1. Only use the Special Instructions field when additional review or processing is required, such as requesting a technology integration or communicating information that cannot be entered elsewhere in the request. Requests with Special Instructions require manual review and may take longer to process.
7. Use the Add TA/Instructors option as needed. (Note: You can skip this step. Additional instructors and TAs can be added from within the Canvas shell at a later time.)
8. Use the Add Sections option to include multiple SLNs in this Canvas shell. More detailed instructions are included below.
9. Click Continue to review your request and Submit. You’ll receive an automated email when the course is ready to access.

How to Request a Course with Multiple Sections

Some courses require multiple sections, and consolidating them in a single Canvas shell is a helpful way to manage them all at once. Please do not order separate shells for cross-listed or combined courses.

1. To add sections to the Canvas shell request, select the Add Section.

2. Then, when prompted, enter your class number to search and select the appropriate sections to add. 

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3. Select Add Sections to finish adding the section to the request.
4. Click Continue to review your request and Submit. You’ll receive an automated email when the course is ready to access.

Managing Existing Requests

You can review the status of your Canvas course requests through the History tab in CES. Depending on your college's settings, you may also be able to edit certain request details before the request has been processed.

If your college has enabled CES Instructor Self-Service, you may be able to update certain request details, such as instructor assignments, sections, or pending course copy information, from the History tab before the request is processed.