Commencement of Academic Activity in Canvas

The link below provides recent Canvas CAA submission data by course and section. This report can be used by instructors and TAs to determine if their #FinAid assessments are set up correctly (even if there are no submissions available). Note, that the report is not a "live" report. The data is generally three (3) days old.

Canvas CAA Submission Data by Course and Section (UCSD Login Required)*

* The report is only available to those employees with UC San Diego credentials. Requests for access from personal email accounts will not be granted.

** Please note that the Academic Activity Tracking System (AATS) is not connected to Canvas in any way, and therefore, should not be used to determine the status of a course's Canvas #FinAid assessments.

There are two options for verifying a student’s commencement of academic activity:

1. The Academic Activity Tracking System (https://aats.ucsd.edu) - an electronic form that allows instructors to report commencement of academic activity by section.
2. #FinAid surveys in Canvas - a choice of surveys that can be downloaded from Canvas Commons. Inserting and publishing a #FinAid survey into a Canvas course will automatically track students who fill out and submit the survey. Only one #FinAid assessment is needed per course.

This page will focus on the #FinAid Canvas survey option. Information about the Academic Activity Tracking System can be found in Blink's Instructor Info: Student Academic Information site.

The Teaching and Learning Commons' Digital Learning Hub created several surveys instructors can use for Commencement of Academic Activity reporting. These surveys free instructors from manually reporting on each student in their section(s).

Additionally, these surveys can help instructors get a better sense of where their students are and what the students wish to accomplish in the course. This is because candid responses are much more likely to be provided through a survey, as opposed to a class-wide discussion board. Engaging students in this manner can lead to better sense of community/belonging in the course.

The #FinAid surveys cover some of the following areas:

• Prior Knowledge
• Demographics
• Curiosity
• Technology Fluency

There are several factors instructors should keep in mind when making use of the #FinAid surveys:

Customize a #FinAid survey or create an assessment:

• If using any of the Canvas Commons assessments, instructors can adjust the surveys, if desired
• Or, instructors can use their own assessments
• #FinAid must be included in the assessment’s name/title
• #FinAid should not be removed or altered
  • Do NOT add parentheses or other characters around #FinAid

 Submission type:

• If an assignment is being used instead of a graded survey, set the submission type to "Online" only.
  • Text entry or file upload are the preferred online submission options.
• Other submission types will not work
• Stick to the native Canvas tools
• Third party tools, like Gradescope, will not work

Grading:

• The assessment must be gradeable and appear in the gradebook
• The following Canvas assessment types will not work: practice quizzes, ungraded assignments, and ungraded surveys
• A gradeable Canvas assignment can be set to not count towards the final grade
• The assessment can be worth any number of points, including 0 points.
• The surveys do not need to be manually graded by instructors or TAs

Submission period:

• Student submissions are due by the end of the second week of the term
  • For summer terms, submissions are due by the end of week one
• Students need to submit the assessment themselves
• Marking a student's missing submission as completed or excused will not work
• Failing to submit by the due date may lead to loss of financial aid award.

 Only one #FinAid assessment is needed per course.

1. Click on the Commons link in the Canvas global navigation bar (far left-hand side)
2. If you have not done so already, authorize Canvas to access your Canvas profile and course
3. On the Canvas Commons dashboard, click on the name of any survey that contain “#FinAid”
   1. If #FinAid surveys do not appear on the Commons dashboard, click on the Filter button
   2. Then, enable the “Only University of California San Diego Approved Resources” toggle.
4. You can review the survey’s questions by clicking the Preview tab
5. Click the Import/Download button
6. Enable (add a check) to the course(s) needing the survey
7. Click the Import into Course button
8. A green success message should appear at the top of the page
   • It may take a few minutes for the survey to appear in the course
9. Go back to the course homepage and click the Quizzes link in the course menu
   • We recommend that you add the survey to your Module page

Visual Aid

There are several factors instructors should keep in mind when creating a #FinAid assessment:

Assessment Name/Title:

• #FinAid must be included in the assessment’s name/title
• #FinAid should not be altered
  • Do NOT add parentheses or other characters around #FinAid

 Submission type:

• If an assignment is being used instead of a graded survey, set the submission type to "Online" only.
  • Text entry or file upload are the preferred online submission options.
• Graded quizzes, graded surveys, and graded discussions also work for CAA purposes
  • If using graded surveys, do not use anonymous submission as an option
• Other submission types will not work
• Stick to the native Canvas tools
• Third party tools, like Gradescope, will not work

Grading:

• The assessment must be gradeable and appear in the gradebook
  • A gradeable Canvas assignment can be set to not count towards the final grade
  • The assessment can be worth any number of points, including 0 points.
  • The surveys do not need to be manually graded by instructors or TAs
• The following Canvas assessment types will not work: practice quizzes, ungraded assignments, and ungraded surveys

Submission period:

• Student submissions are due by the end of the second week of the term
  • For summer terms, submissions are due by the end of week one
• Students need to submit the assessment themselves
• Marking a student's missing submission as completed or excused will not work
• Failing to submit by the due date may lead to loss of financial aid award.

 Only one #FinAid assessment is needed per course.

Faculty and students seeking clarification or status information on Commencement of Academic Activity should contact Financial Aid Services, servicedesk@ucsd.edu.

Instructors experiencing trouble with setting up a #FinAid survey in Canvas can contact EdTech Support, canvas@ucsd.edu, or the Faculty Helpline at (858) 822-3315.