How do I assign an assignment to a course group?

canvas assignment group

You can create a group assignment by using the Group Assignment checkbox. Canvas uses group sets to assign group assignments, and each group within the group set that is assigned to the assignment is required to complete the assignment. When creating or editing a group assignment, you can assign an assignment to specific groups. You can also set different due dates and availability dates for a group within an assignment that is assigned to the rest of the class.

You will need to assign a group set as part of the assignment. You can add an existing group set, or you can create a new group set as part of the assignment and add students to groups later. However, if you create a group set with self sign-up or manual group assignments, you will not be able to use the group set until users have been added to the subgroups.

When differentiating groups in assignments, students can only view the assignment if they are a member of an assigned group. Otherwise the assignment does not appear in the student's assignments page. Grades cannot be assigned for students who have not been included in the assignment, and assignments that are not assigned to a student are not factored into overall grades.

When Multiple Grading Periods are enabled in a course, assignments are also respected against closed grading periods.

Notes:

In group assignments, one submission will count for the entire group. Learn more about evaluating group work.
Group assignments cannot be used with External Tool assignments.
Students should be assigned to groups before group assignments are published. Grades and submissions may be affected for students who were not in a group at the time of assignment submission but who were later added to a group or students who were removed from a group.
If multiple due dates apply to a student, Canvas will assign the latest due date to the student. For example, if the group due date is November 18 and a student's individual due date is November 20, the student will be assigned a due date of November 20.

Open Assignments

In Course Navigation, click the Assignments link.

Add Assignment

Click the Add Assignment button.

Enter Assignment Details

Enter a name [1] and description [2] for your assignment, as well as any other assignment details [3].

Select Group Assignment

Click the This is a Group Assignment checkbox.

Assign Grades Individually

You can choose to assign grades to students individually by selecting the Assign grades to each student individually checkbox.

If this box is left unchecked, all the students in the group will receive the same grade.

Select Group Set

To select an existing group set, click the Group Set drop-down menu [1]. To create a new group category, click the New Group Category button [2].

Note: Groups created by students cannot be used for Group Assignments and do not appear in the drop-down menu.

Require Peer Reviews

Peer reviews can be used with group assignments. If you want to assign peer reviews, click the Require Peer Reviews checkbox.

Assign Different Dates for Groups

By default, Canvas will assign your assignment to everyone in your course. To add new due and availability dates for other users in your course, click the Add button [1].

Then start to type the name of the group in the new Assign to field [2]. Search fields are dynamic, and you can search by any part of the group name. Click the group's name when it appears [3]. Lists are not scrollable.

You can include more than one group in the Assign to field as long as the groups are to be assigned the same due and availability dates.

Assign to Group Only

To create the assignment that is only for a specific group in the group set, click the Remove icon next to the Everyone label [1].

Start to type the name of a group in the Assign to field [2]. Click the group's name when it appears [3].

Edit Due and Availability Dates

In the date fields, add your preferred date(s) with the following options:

Due [1]: Set the date and time that the assignment is due. The due date will already be populated for you if you created an assignment shell, but you can change it if necessary.
Available From [2]: Set the date and time when the assignment will become available.
Until [3]: Set the date and time when the assignment will no longer be available.

Note: Beneath the Due Date and Availability date fields, Canvas will display the time zone date and time according to context. If you manage courses in a time zone other than your local time zone and create or edit a due date for an assignment, the course and local times are displayed for reference.

Remove Dates

You can also delete additional dates by clicking the remove icon next to the appropriate date.

Save and Publish

If you are ready to publish your assignment, click the Save & Publish button [1]. If you want to create a draft of your assignment and publish it later, click the Save button [2].

View Due Date Warning

Even when you aren't adding sections, you will see a warning message asking you if you want to add sections.

You can click the Continue button [1] if you don't want to add any other sections to the assignment, or click the Go Back button [2] to go back and add sections.

Note: This warning message will not appear if everyone in the course or all course sections are assigned.

View Date Error

If you submit an invalid string of due dates and try to save the assignment, Canvas generates an error notification. Such invalid entries include not unlocking the assignment before it is due, not placing the due date inside the range of availability dates, or assigning a date that is outside the course or term dates.

Correct the date and then update the assignment again.

Notes:

If the course does not include specified course start and end dates, Canvas validates the assignment against the term date set for the course.
If your course is using Multiple Grading Periods, the Assign field validates the due date against the closed grading period and requires the assignment date to be past the date of the closed grading period.

View Assignment Dates

View the dates and users assigned to the assignment.

View Assignments Page

On the Assignments Index Page, the assignment shows there are multiple users and dates assigned to the assignment. Hover over the text to view date availability.

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