assignment start date meaning

Instructional Design & Online Course Support

University of Wisconsin

Understanding Assignment Dates in Canvas

Posted: May 22, 2019 | Last Modified: January 25, 2024

All dates associated with assignments use the time zone set in the course. If the course time zone is Central time and has an assignment due at 11:59 pm, the assignment will display as due at 10:59 pm to a student in Mountain time. All dates associated with assignments also appear in the Assignments Index page.

Canvas provides three options for setting dates on assignments:

The Due date indicates the date and time when the assignment is due.

Student considerations : With a due date on an assignment, students can

see the due date on the Calendar and in their To Do list
access the assignment at any time
submit the assignment any time before or on the due date (e.g., Jun 21 11:59pm)
submit the assignment any time after the due date (it will be marked as late)

Instructor considerations : Assignment Due dates

automatically appear in the Calendar and the To-Do list, helping your students organize their time and tasks
are recommended for all assignments
are recommended for use in indicating the due date of an initial discussion post
can be edited by drag & drop on the calendar

Available from Date

The Available from date determines when a student can first access the assignment. This date appears in the assignment, but not on the Calendar. In this example, the assignment is available one week prior to the Due date.

Student considerations : When an Available from date is set on an assignment, students can

access the assignment on or after the Available from date (e.g., June 14 12am)
submit the assignment between the Available from date and the due date (e.g., Jun 21 11:59pm)
submit the assignment any time after the Due date (it will be marked as late) unless an Until date is also set

Instructor considerations : Assignment Available from dates:

do not appear on the Calendar nor can they be edited on the Calendar.
can be used to prevent students from working too far ahead
can be used to prevent early access to quizzes/exams
do not need to be used in conjunction with Until dates

The Until date locks an assignment so that students can no longer submit their work. This date appears in the assignment, but not on the Calendar. In this example, the assignment is available one week prior to the Due date. Students can submit late work for two days following the Due date.

Student considerations : When an Until date is set on an assignment, students can

access the assignment at any time unless an Available from date has been set
submit the assignment before or on the Due date (e.g., Jun 21 11:59pm)
submit the assignment between the Due date and the Until date (June 23 11:59pm) (it will be marked as late)
cannot access the assignment after the Until date (June 23 11:59pm)

Instructor considerations : Assignment Until dates:

prevent editing the assignment Due date by drag & drop on the Calendar
do not need to be used in conjunction with Available from dates
can be different (later) than the Due date
can be used to prevent late submissions
can be used to allow a grace period after a Due date

Notes About Dates

All dates associated with an assignment are visible from the Assignments Index page. Click here to view a Canvas Guide about the Assignments Index page along with examples of what information is visible there .
Availability dates (Available from and Until dates) do not display on the Calendar nor can they be edited on the Calendar. If you use until dates, you should also apply a due date to the assignment so students see that on the Calendar.

See the Canvas guide on dates for more information: What is the difference between assignment due dates and availability dates?