Canvas Integration Policy

LTS maintains institution-level integrations within the Canvas environment as a means to extend the capabilities of the platform to meet diverse teaching and learning needs. To ensure quality and stability, we have enacted a policy and timeline to guide faculty and staff through the process.

Request Timeline

The below list captures the standard steps and their duration related to releasing new integrations in Canvas. Not all steps are required for all integrations, and in many cases, activities can take place concurrently.

Integrations need to be requested during at least the semester prior to using the integration. For example, integrations wanted for Fall semester should be requested by early-mid Summer term.

• Initial request for Integration, using the Integration Request Form – 5 business days

  • Information gathering phase

  • Need will be assessed, alternative (already existing) integrations may be suggested

  • A key consideration for new global integrations is the expected usage of the tool; new global integrations will not be approved if only a few courses use the tool

• Security and Functionality Review – 15 business days

  • In the interest of protecting student data in compliance with University Policy 8060, the Office of Information Technology may review data storage, retention, and transmission, and deletion processes for third-party applications

  • To ensure interoperability with our campus technology ecosystem, the Office of Information Technology may perform a software architecture review of third-party applications

• Testing – 15 business days

  • Integrations are run through one Canvas environment – our Canvas Test Development site.  

  • Basic functionality of the tool is tested, as well as its interactions with other parts of Canvas

• Contract Review – 30 business days

  • This step may be optional/skipped for free services or those already under contract.

  • Integrations requiring a contract will need to meet standards set by University Policy 6030.

  • SARB approval will be required for LTI integrations that have not gone through the SARB process. The following link contains the Software Application Inventory of LTIs that have been approved.

• Integration – 5-10 business days

  • LTS staff will need to meet with a technical rep from the product company in order to install the integration.

Multiple stakeholders may be involved in testing and evaluating the product, including the requestor and designated tester. Note that the timeline of an implementation request is contingent upon multiple factors, including:

• Vendor and tester responsiveness

• SARB approval

• Canvas upgrade cycle

• Priorities for Canvas core services.

Once submitted, the requester will be contacted by a member of Learning Technology Solutions within 5 business days to assess the feasibility and review the global integration criteria.

Support Boundaries

Learning Technology Solutions provides support for all native Canvas tools and features. Integrations developed by third-parties are tested thoroughly to ensure they operate as expected, but the ecosystem of product and service integrations continues to grow and evolve. Because it is not possible to stay up-to-date on all third-party products, we have set limits on the support that we are able to offer.

Learning Technology Solutions will provide technical troubleshooting for any error messages displayed within Canvas and ensure that integrations are properly configured per vendor documentation. We will test all integrations to the fullest extent possible given vendor constraints. Not all vendors provide support for integration testing, and common constraints include the availability of materials, test accounts, and a test environment for validation. Questions about the use of third-party products outside Canvas, or issues with access codes or accounts will be referred to the third-party vendor.