Canvas Templates

IDS has developed many different Canvas course templates for Seattle U faculty to use to get up and running in Canvas quickly and conform to best practices for hybrid and online learning.

All of our Canvas course templates can be modified and used regardless of whether your course meets face-to-face or online. 

In addition, IDS has a guide on how to import a IDS Canvas template into your Canvas course shell.

Preview and Download our Canvas Course Templates

Preview and Download New Semester Canvas Course Templates for Calendar Unification

Template Updates

IDS regularly reviews and updates our Canvas course templates to implement improvements and enhancements. Below is a summary of recent updates.

If you are currently using an old version of our templates, please contact IDS for help migrating your course to utilize an updated and redesigned template.

January 2026 New Semester Templates to Support Calendar Unification

Designed for the shift to semesters, these new customizable Semester course templates streamline course setup and support a smoother transition from quarter-based courses. The new semester templates include a new clean, modern visual design, improved accessibility and mobile-friendly layouts, a TILT-informed framework embedded throughout assignments, discussions, and quizzes to clarify expectations, purpose, and criteria for students and a number of new optional template elements including video pages, content pages, weekly recap and looking ahead pages, and more. Each template can be easily adapted to your course and teaching style.

March 2024 Template Redesign and Additional Updates

In March 2024, IDS updated the Canvas course templates to include redesigned visual elements (including new color schemes, page banners, and other aesthetic changes), updates for accessibility (including removing tables from the home page navigational portal), updates for enhanced design and functionality for mobile users, and integrating a TILT framework for assignments, discussions and quizzes for increased transparency that helps students better understand how and why they are doing what they are doing in their course, which is in alignment with Universal Design for Learning, a framework for making your course pedagogy more accessible for all students.

November 2021 Accessibility Updates

In November 2021, IDS's Canvas Course templates were been updated to better meet web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) level AA. Some of the changes made to the templates include:

• Added a caption, code updates, and adjusted color and contrast levels to make the home page table more accessible
• Other than navigational portal on the home page, all single cell tables removed and replaced with horizontal divider lines and headings
• Ensured all images have an appropriate "alt" description or are marked as decorative
• Adjusted heading levels to ensure proper nesting of headings
• Removed all-caps titles

★ While IDS works hard to ensure that our Canvas templates meet accessibility guidelines, if you have students with specific accommodation requests, contact Disability Services to ensure your online course, content, and assignments are accessible and address students' needs.