What Is a Canvas Course Blueprint?
A Canvas course blueprint is a primary course shell that allows departments to manage and share common course materials, structure, and settings across multiple course sections. Rather than building each section from scratch, a blueprint makes it possible to create a consistent foundation that can be pushed out to associated courses while still allowing instructors some flexibility where appropriate. For more information, please see: Canvas – How to create a blueprint course
Why Might a Department Use One?
Blueprints can be especially helpful when a department wants greater consistency across multi-section courses, general education courses, or gateway courses with shared learning outcomes and student expectations. They can support course coordinators and chairs in making sure that core materials, grading structures, policies, navigation, and key assignments are aligned across sections. This can improve the student experience by reducing confusion and helping ensure that all students encounter the same essential elements of the course, regardless of instructor or section.
How Can Blueprints Support Digital Accessibility?
Blueprints also offer a strong opportunity to improve digital accessibility at scale. When accessible design practices are built into the primary course shell from the start—such as clear heading structures, organized navigation, accessible document formats, consistent page design, captioned media, and thoughtfully designed assessments—those practices can be extended across every associated section. This helps ensure that the accessibility work that is completed for a course is consistent across all course sections, allowing for digital accessibility at scale.
What Are Good Use Cases?
Departments often find blueprints useful for:
- courses with multiple sections taught by different instructors, TAs, or adjuncts
- ability to lock module order and structure
- include instructor-facing materials for consistent course facilitation
- general education or high-enrollment courses that need a common student experience
- ability to lock core course elements like general education high-impact practices (HIPs)
- courses with shared outcomes, assessments, or accreditation expectations
- programs aiming to improve quality, consistency, and accessibility across offerings
Interested in Exploring a Blueprint in Your Department?
A good first step is to identify a course or course group where consistency matters most, such as a multi-section course or a general education requirement. From there, department chairs and course coordinators can begin conversations about which elements should be shared across sections, what flexibility instructors should retain, and how accessibility and student success goals can be built into the design.
To obtain a blueprint course shell, contact CASL and submit a request using the CASL Support Form.