Your  Account:

Request Forms

Request a cross-listed course

In Moodle, multiple sections of the same course could be combined into one container. This container was separate from the individual sections, but brought in their enrollments through course meta links. You still had access to the individual sections, but usually kept these hidden and made the combined container visible to your students.

In Canvas, this process is called "cross-listing" and while it serves the same purpose of having one place for course content that serves multiple sections, there is an important difference. When you cross-list a course in Canvas you have one parent course and the other sections are cross-listed to that course. These sections are subsumed into the parent and are then no longer available as individual containers. All content and student data in these sections is erased. Therefore you will want to request a course be cross-listed prior to adding content and publishing these courses. If students have already completed work in the section, it will not be possible to cross list.

Though there is this downside of removing those individual sections, the upside is that it is very easy in Canvas to manage sections in a cross-listed container, including assigning different due dates for activities and sorting the gradebook.

Request a course be cross-listed in Canvas 


Request a Plugin/LTI

As a public institution, CSUSM is required to ensure that all course materials are accessible to students with disabilities and conforms with the Accessible Technology Initiative (ATI). Any faculty member wishing to adopt content from a third party vendor must ensure that the vendor tool or content has an established accessibility policy document.

Before submitting a request, faculty will want to consider:

  • Are the videos captioned and audio transcribed accurately?
  • Can the content be accessed by a screen reader?
  • Are all activities navigable and usable by a student using only a keyboard?
  • Does the vendor have a VPAT document, a WCAG 2.1 AA compliance statement, a 3rd party accessibility review, security and privacy documentation, and a HECVAT document?
  • Does the content work on a mobile device?

Required Checks

There is an extensive process for publisher integrations and the process takes time. 

Plugins or LTIs must go through several checks before it can be approved and added to Canvas. This includes an accessibility check and data security check.

Helpful Tip:
It is faster to export your quizzes/content from the publisher's system & import them into your course.

Making a Request

The Information Technology Review (ITR) process is part of CSUSM’s commitment to making the resources and tools used on campus accessible, secure, and compatible with our IT infrastructure. Before the purchase, IITS checks that campus does not already own the software, have something similar, and if the intended purchase is excluded from the ITR process.

Before Making a Request
Check the Plugins List before making a request to check that the LTI isn't already in the queue, approved, or rejected for Canvas use.

To request a plugin, the initiating requester must submit their product through the Information Technology Review (ITR) process where it will go through an accessibility and information security review. Before submitting the ITR, the requester will need to gather the publisher's 3rd party accessibility review of their product, the publisher's internal accessibility documentation (VPAT), a roadmap for making the inaccessible parts accessible, and their security and privacy documentation (HECVAT).

To request a plugin/LTI be added, you will need to submit an ITR request with details of the request and the required documentation.

  • One ITR is required per plugin, even if multiple plugins requested are provided by the same publisher/vendor
  • Indicate on the ITR form that the request is a Canvas integration
  • Include the following documentation from the vendor:
    • HECVAT
    • Vendor security and privacy documentation
    • VPAT created by the vendor
      • Roadmap of fixes document, if this content exists
    • A third-party accessibility review conducted by an organization outside of the vendor/company

After an ITR request has been submitted - The Security and Accessibility Teams start the review process of the documentation and the product. It is likely that there are accessibility issues which will require you to complete an Equality Effective Alternate Access Plan (EEAAP) which outlines what you will do to support a student who has a disability and can’t use the plugin. Once that process is completed, and if it is approved, IITS will install the plugin so you can add it to your course. We will help you with that process.


For any questions, please reach out to us at canvashelp@csusm.edu.