canvas-non-instructional

Non-Instructional Canvas Sites (NISs)

We are not running a training cohort this summer. Please apply in the fall for a Spring 2026 student-facing NIS. Look for emails to your Chabot account when we reopen training sometime in August/September.

Requirements for completion include an accessible home page and one module of accessible content according to the Course Design Checklist. The training walks you through this process as you build your NIS.

What Is a Non-Instructional Canvas Site?

Canvas is a Learning Management System (LMS) with the primary purpose to facilitate instruction. Chabot has a small number of Non-Instructional Canvas Sites available for Student Services groups on campus geared towards supporting students academically.

Alternate Communication Platforms

Before requesting a Canvas Site, please familiarize yourself with other communication platforms at Chabot to ensure that Canvas, as a Learning Management System, best meets your needs.

My Portal (most inclusive option)

Audience: Internal; targeting current students
Purpose: Sharing resources and events with students to encourage retention and engagement, making pathways to completing certificates and degrees transparent to currently enrolled students (there is already an Academic & Career Pathways tile that sends users to the Chabot Website)

Chabot Website (most accessible option)

Audience: Public facing; targeting prospective and currently enrolled students and accreditors
Purpose: Encouraging enrollment, making pathways to completing certificates and degrees transparent to currently enrolled students, sharing events with the campus community and public, documenting college programs and processes for accreditation, etc.

CRM Advise (most targeted option)

Audience: Internal (although CRM Recruit can be external); targeting current and prospective students
Purpose: System allows Counseling, Faculty and Student Success teams to document, message, and support students using a central repository of communication as the student moves through their program of study

Chabot Student Support Hub

Audience: Internal; targeting current students (it is a current Canvas repository already familiar to students)
Purpose: Sharing resources and events with students to encourage retention and engagement, making pathways to completing certificates and degrees transparent to currently enrolled students

Chabot Social Media

Audience: Public facing; targeting prospective and currently enrolled students
Purpose: Encouraging enrollment, sharing resources and events with students and community, etc.

Responsibilities of the Instructor of Record

If you or your manager decide to request a Canvas Non-Instructional Site, you acknowledge that Non-Instructional Canvas Sites are typically created for a one-semester term to be managed by one official “Instructor of Record.” This person is responsible for the following.

Course Design and Maintenance

Canvas Sites take a significant amount of time to build and there should be dedicated time in this person’s schedule for completing appropriate training, designing the course, maintaining the accuracy of information in the course, and moderating any interactions.

Accessibility Training

All content must be fully accessible. Non-faculty “instructors of record” must complete the COOL-approved Non-Instructional Canvas Site training.

Both Ally and PopeTech are available in all Chabot Canvas Sites (instructional and non-instructional) to facilitate and track accessible design. We recommend using both accessibility checkers on every page before publishing and remediating as needed.

FERPA Compliance

Self-enrollment is not allowed. To maintain FERPA compliance, students must be individually enrolled each semester, and the People tab in the global navigation menu must be disabled (or invisible to students).

Please note if students withdraw from the Sponsoring Organization during the semester, they will still need to be removed from the Non-Instructional Site.

Additional Access and Site Administration

All users with administrative and/or editing capabilities must complete accessibility and design training, with Instructors of Record responsible for verifying training and compliance.

Instructional and Non-Instructional Canvas Sites expire at the end of each semester. Instructors of Record must request a New, Non-Instructional Canvas Site for each new semester of proposed use. Instructors of Record will be able to copy content and add new student users. Additional Teacher Roles can be added by Instructional Technology.

Please note

Submit your request for a Non-Instructional Canvas Site by using form for each new semester .
Submitting the request does not guarantee approval.
Monitor your Chabot email for follow-up.
Each training cohort is open for approximately seven weeks. Please record application and training deadlines when participating.