How to check your Canvas course is ready before the term starts
Short answer: Canvas has no single readiness list, so check Modules, Assignments → Edit Assignment Dates, Settings → Validate Links in Content, and Student View. Or open Course++ and type: “Audit this course for the start of term. Don’t change anything. List unpublished items, graded items with no due date, items that lock before they’re due, links to other courses, and empty modules.”
The problem
The first day is Monday, and you still can’t say what is live.
Each problem lives on a different screen. An unpublished page, a missing date and an old link look fine from the teacher side.
four screens to checkeasy to miss one
The fix
Ask for the audit. Course++ reads the whole course.
It reads your modules, assignments, pages and links, and reports back. Nothing changes until you tell it what to fix.
one questionnothing changes
Prompts you can copy
Open your Canvas course, open Course++ beside it, and paste one of these. Change the names and numbers to match your course.
Audit this course for the start of term. Don’t change anything. List (1) unpublished pages, assignments, quizzes, discussions and modules, (2) graded items with no due date, (3) items whose until date is before their due date, (4) links that point to another course, and (5) modules with no items.
The read-only audit. Run it first.Publish the Week 1 and Week 2 modules and everything inside them. Leave the rest unpublished.
To open the first weeks.Where an until date is earlier than the due date, set the until date to 11:59 pm on the Sunday after the due date. Show me the list first.
To fix items that lock early.Rewrite every link that points to another course so it points to the matching item in this course. Tell me any you can’t match.
To fix old links.
How to check your Canvas course by hand
- Click Modules and look for the gray unpublished icon beside items and modules, and for modules with nothing in them.
- Click Assignments, then the Options icon (three dots) and Edit Assignment Dates.
- Scan the rows for blank due dates, and for an until date that comes before the due date.
- Click Settings, then Validate Links in Content, and click Start Link Validation.
- On the course Home page, click View as Student and click through each module as a student would.
- Click Leave Student View when you’re done.
Good to know
- Unpublished is sometimes on purpose. Course++ lists what it finds, and you decide what to publish. New things it builds start unpublished.
- The audit covers course content only. Course++ refuses grades, submissions and rosters.
- Publishing the course is yours. Course++ asks first before publishing a whole course. For old links, see fix links after a course copy.
Questions teachers ask
Is there a checklist in Canvas to run before the term starts?
Not one list. You check Modules, Assignments, the link validator and Student View in turn.
How do I find unpublished items in Canvas?
Look for the gray unpublished icon on the Modules, Assignments and Pages screens. Course++ can list every unpublished item in one answer.
How do I find assignments that have no due date in Canvas?
Open Edit Assignment Dates from the Assignments page and scan for rows with a blank due date. Course++ can list them by module.
Can Course++ check my course without changing it?
Yes. Say “don’t change anything” and it only reads and reports. It can’t look at grades, submissions or student information.
250 FREE credits to try it. No credit card.
Canvas steps checked against Instructure’s own Canvas guides in October 2026. Canvas changes its screens from time to time, and schools turn features on and off, so a button may be named a little differently in yours.