Table of Contents

Course QA Checklists

Markette Pierce Updated by Markette Pierce

Course QA Checklists

Standard Elements QA Checklist

  1. Click "Modules" and make sure that every module and course page is published. Go to the Homepage and make sure the course is published. 
  2. Make sure that the nine standard course announcements are in place. You can import them from the master course template, or add a note in the tracker for the IDA to import them.
  3. Make sure that the Facilitator Notes page is unpublished, not included in Modules, and does not include any time requirements for facilitators in instructing the course.
  4. Click "Assignments" in the left nav. In another tab, click "Modules." Ensure that every assignment that appears in the Assignments groups also appears in Modules.
    1. There may be unused or unfinished assignments present in the Assignments group - look for titles like Course Project Copy #2, Course Project Copy of Copy, Course Project DEV, DO_NOT_USE, etc.
    2. You must delete every unused assignment  — including projects, discussions, and quizzes — from the Assignments group or students won't be able to pass the course.
    3. Unless you're sure that an assignment can be deleted, it's best to make a note in the tracker and verify with the course ID or IDA. 
  5. In most cases, there should be only one Assignments group, and it will be weighted at 100% of total. If there is more than one group, verify that the group names are public friendly, not something like Assignments Old, or Imported, or Don't Use, and that the weighting of the groups makes sense. If the weighting of the groups adds up to less than 100%, students can't pass the course. More information about non-standard Assignments groups can usually be found in the Style and Settings Guide for the course or certificate.
  6. Click "Pages", View All Pages, and delete any duplicate, unpublished, or unused pages (excluding the AA pages), especially pages named "copy" or generic template pages from the Master course. Again, verify with the ID/IDA if you're unsure.
  7. Make sure there is a Qualtrics-based "Course Exit Survey" before the "Thank You and Farewell" page — same survey for every course.
  8. Make sure there is a "Stay Connected" page after the "Thank You and Farewell" page — same page for every course.

Course Settings QA Checklist

This training video explains how to check the course settings discussed in this section.

Where you're logged into Canvas with your admin account,

  1. Click Settings in the left nav bar, then the Course Details tab at the top. Verify that these checkboxes are checked:
    1. Restrict students from viewing this course before start date (the actual date doesn't matter)
    2. Enable course grading scheme 
    3. Let students attach files to discussions (Under "more options")
    4. Let students edit or delete their own discussion posts (Under "more options")
    5. Hide grade distribution graphs from students (Under "more options")
  2. Click "Enable course grading scheme," then "set grading scheme."
    1. In most cases for catalog courses, the grading scheme should be set to Complete/Incomplete 100%.
    2. If you're working on a technical course, the scheme may be different. Check the Styles and Settings Guide for info, and leave a question for the ID in the tracker if you still don't know the correct scheme to use.
  3. Click "Update Course Details" to save your changes.
  4. At the top of the screen, click the "Navigation" tab. Ensure that only these elements are visible in the nav bar. Drag any others to the bottom part of the screen:
    1. Home
    2. Modules
    3. Announcements
    4. Syllabus
    5. Grades
    6. People
    7. Chat with Tech Support (Here are instructions for adding this if you need to)
    8. In courses with Codio, also include the Codio nav element.
      1. Some technically oriented courses will embed the Codio interface into the course. Most courses will not use Codio, in which case, it should not appear in the left nav.
  5. Make sure that the course title matches what is shown in the Wrike ticket for the course. The title is found in the Name field on the Settings page. During QA, the title should be ABC123QA: Course Title. 
  6. Click "Save."

Course Discussion QA Checklist

  1. The page is in this format:
  1. Verify that the Settings match this, unless the Style and Settings Guide indicates something different.
  2. In non-Edit mode, click the three dots at top right of screen. Click Show Rubric and verify that there is no rubric in the discussion — that is, Add Rubric, not Show Rubric, is appears in the context menu. 
  3. Click any links that appear and verify they're working as expected. 
  4. Click the accessibility checker and address any issues, as possible. 

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