A Canvas "instance" is a distinct version of Canvas. At the University of Oregon, there are two Canvas instances:

• The Academic instance of Canvas is exclusively for CRN courses taught at UO. Students must be formally enrolled to access Canvas courses in the Academic instance. 

• The Community instance of Canvas is for non-CRN courses and resources. There are various use cases for using a Community site such as:

  • Graduate program Community sites for general program and professional information

  • Club and organization sites

  • Faculty//Staff Canvas trainings

  • Orientations/Workshops

  • Events

Each instance of Canvas at the UO has its own URL and colors. You can quickly tell which instance you are in based on the color of the Global Navigation Menu.

• The Academic Instance has a green Global Navigation Menu.

  • Access the Academic Instance at canvas.uoregon.edu 

• The Community Instance has a yellow Global Navigation Menu.

  • Access the Community Instance at community.uoregon.edu 

Academic Courses: If you are teaching a CRN course, the course site will be automatically created for you. Courses are generally created at the end of week 5 of the previous term.

Community & Development/Sandbox: If you would like a course on the Community instance of Canvas or a Development/Sandbox course in the Academic Instance to begin designing a Canvas course, contact LMS Admin by completing a Canvas Support Ticket.

In the field “What do you need help with” select Non-CRN Course [1].

In the Type of non-CRN Course [2] field, select either Non-CRN course in the community instance or Development/Sandbox course for CRN preparation. 

Canvas Commons allows you to share and use Canvas content (Courses, Modules, Pages, Assignments) within the UO Canvas Community. Commons is available in both the Academic and Community instances of Canvas and you can choose which to share your content with.

To share content within the Academic or Community instance only, select All of University of Oregon in the Sharing and License section.

To share content to both the Academic and Community instances, select Select Consortium(s) and then UO Academic and Community Canvas.