Canvas frequently asked questions for students

Go to learn.nmt.edu. Use your NM Tech ID (a.k.a. 900#) for your username and your date of birth (DOB) in YYYYMMDD format for your password. If that doesn’t work, click the “forgot password?” link on the Canvas sign-in page; enter your Tech ID and then check your email for password information; the email will go to the primary email account you have in Canvas, which should be your Tech email address. If that doesn’t work, email act@nmt.edu or call 575-835-6700 and ACT staff will verify your Canvas user account and reset your password manually.

In the User Dashboard (upper-right section of the Canvas window) under the “Settings” link, click the “Edit Settings” button in the right-hand column and then check the Change Password box under the User’s Settings column and the change password fields will appear.

Under the “Courses ” link in the upper left-hand corner of the Canvas window, click “All Courses.” The stars appearing before each course title indicate “favorites” which will be seen on the drop-down course list. If you click a highlighted star, it will be deselected and no longer appear on the drop-down course list.

The first time you login to use Canvas, In the Dashboard (upper-left section of the Canvas window) under the “Settings” link, click the “Notifications” link on the left navigation column. To add an email address or SMS text option to your notification preferences, go back to “Settings” in your User Dashboard and choose “Add Email Address” or “Add Contact Method” to add an SMS text number. If you have used the service before, you will need to navigate to your account tab, and select the settings link. This will take you to a new window where you can edit all of your account settings. Please note: Canvas requires your official school issued @nmt.edu or @student.nmt.edu account. Personal email addresses are not to be used.

Go to https://community.canvaslms.com/ where instructors and students will find tutorials, videos and complete users’ manuals in addition to an active community forum, feature request section and the latest release notes. If possible please include any links to any help guides you have used to try and diagnose any problems you are having with Canvas when you email us. This is to help us better diagnose Canvas issues and understand problems that are not commonly encountered.

Try another web browser. Generally Canvas is designed to work with Google Chrome, however sometimes unexpected issues can occur, especially after large updates. Trying Internet Explorer or Firefox can often solve these problems. It’s uncanny—albeit a bit frustrating—how often this works. The latest two versions of Internet Explorer, Firefox, Chrome and Safari all work well with Canvas but sometimes browser settings changes, add-ons or toolbars, inexplicable glitches and malicious code can cause problems with the way a given browser renders Canvas content. Trying another browser is an easy way to determine the source of the issue and resume your Canvas session.

Ideally, you will report the issue while still on the page on which you encountered the problem. By submitting the ticket from the page on which you experienced the problem, your ticket will automatically include additional information that Canvas support technicians might use to solve the problem. Click the “Help” link in the upper-most corner of the Canvas window and choose the “Get Canvas help from ACT” link. Please provide your Tech ID (900 number) and as much information about your problem as possible.

Yes. Download the free Canvas App and install it on your mobile device. The Canvas App has somewhat abbreviated functionality but users can perform most tasks.  Flash-delivered video and other Flash objects cannot be viewed in the Canvas App using iOS mobile devices. Please note that our ability to diagnose issues with the Canvas app is limited, if you encounter any problems with it, notify us immediately. Download the Canvas Student app for iOS or the Canvas Student app for Android

It could be that you recently registered or finalized and Canvas hasn’t yet synchronized with the SIS (student information system). It could also be that Canvas failed to import your enrollment from the SIS. It could also be that the instructor of the course hasn’t yet published the course, in which case we recommend contacting the instructor and kindly ask them to publish the course. Please also check to make sure that you have not been disenrolled by the registrar for payment related issues.

Whether you view the assignment from the Assignments page or from the Modules page, if your teacher has configured the assignment for an online submission, there will be a “Submit Assignment” button. There are four submission types: File Upload, Text Entry, Website URL and Media. The assignment will indicate which of these submission types is required. For file uploads, an instructor may require a particular format (i.e. DOC, PDF, etc.), in which case, Canvas will only allow specified formats to be uploaded.

Important: look for a clear indication that your assignment was successfully submitted after submitting an assignment. There should be a checkmark, a timestamp and the words “Turned In!” associated with the assignment.This is now the default setting in Canvas.

Course content is available to students until the official end of the semester in both read/write format. After the semester has ended, students retain access to shells with read access only. If you are missing any shells from previous semesters or from your current semester, please email us as soon as possible so that we can investigate the reason. Grades, submitted documents and course discussions remain available to students so long as the course instructor does not unpublish the shell, or hide the course documentation from students. If you cannot see a previous course you have taken in Canvas, please consult the following: Contact your professor first to find out if they have made the course or its materials unavailable to students. Obtain permission to access the course materials from the instructor and then contact us at act@nmt.edu in order to have the course reopened.

Electronic evaluations (through EvaluationKit) are available to students starting two weeks prior to the first day of final examinations. Students will receive and email from ACT instructing them on how to access their course evaluations through Canvas. Alternatively, links directed to the surveys themselves are contained in the first email notification from the service. Students should complete these surveys in a timely manner.

Tech policy requires that your photo in Canvas must be your official photo taken by the Registrar or, if you are a distance education student, submitted using the Student Authentication course in Canvas, in which you should be automatically entered. If you want a new official photo displayed in Canvas, visit the Registar's office.