Canvas: Options for Monitoring Attendance

This article describes options for tracking attendance. Instructors can either: 1) create a dedicated Attendance assignment group and use No-Submission assignments; or 2) download a spreadsheet from the Canvas gradebook with tools like Excel or Google Sheets to log daily or weekly attendance outside of Canvas.

Tracking attendance through Gradebook via Assignment

This multi-step option is recommended for instructors who are comfortable with managing Canvas assignments and the gradebook.

I. Create an Assignment group: Attendance

1. In Course Navigation, click the Assignments link.
2. Click the Add Group button.
3. Type “Attendance” in the Group Name field.
4. Note: If you want to weight the final grade for students using assignment groups, the percentage will appear in % of total grade field.

See Canvas Guide: How do I add an assignment group in a course?  

II. Create a “No-Submission” Assignment

1. In Course Navigation, click the Assignments link.
2. Locate the “Attendance” group and click the Add Assignment button.
3. Open the Assignment to add details.
4. Click the Edit button.
5. Give the Assignment a name, such as “Day 1” or “Week 1.”
6. Enter the total points possible for the attendance Assignment in the Points field.
7. Make sure the Assignment Group is set to “Attendance.” 
8. Click the Submission Type drop down and select “No-Submission.”
9. Click the Save button.

See Canvas Guide: How do I create an assignment?

See Canvas Guide: How do I add or edit details in an assignment?

III. Duplicate the Attendance Assignment

1. In Course Navigation, click the Assignments link.
2. Locate the assignment you want to duplicate and click the Options icon [the three vertical dots to the right]. 
3. Click the Duplicate link.
4. Repeat as needed.
5. Rename the Attendance Assignments by week or day to match your course schedule.

See Canvas Guide: How do I duplicate an assignment?

Tracking Attendance Outside of Canvas

Instructors who wish to track attendance on a more regular basis may use a spreadsheet tool like Excel or Google sheets and then transfer the aggregate data to Canvas to help calculate a final grade. You can use Canvas to download a spreadsheet with a list of all your students' names. 

Download your class roster from the Gradebook as a spreadsheet

1. Go to Grades in your course.
2. Click Actions in the upper left corner of your grade book. Select Export.
3. This will create a local file on your computer in CSV (comma-delimited) format that you can open in Excel or upload to Microsoft OneDrive or Google Drive for continued editing.
4. When you open the file in Excel, you may be prompted to pick a delimiter. For this file, select Comma.
5. Student names will be listed in column A. All the other columns can be deleted and replaced with columns for daily or weekly attendance. When you're done setting up your attendance sheet, click the File menu and choose Save As. Save the file in Excel Workbook format (.xlsx).