Academic Continuity
Academic Continuity planning helps ensure that teaching and learning can continue with minimal disruption when unexpected events affect normal campus operations or access to instructional technologies. Being prepared before a disruption occurs allows faculty to communicate effectively with students, maintain access to course materials, and continue instruction using alternative methods when necessary.
Preparing for disruptions before they occur is one of the most effective ways to reduce instructional interruptions and support student success. The training and resources available on this page will help you develop a proactive plan so that you can confidently continue teaching regardless of the circumstances.
This Academic Continuity resource hub provides training, guidance, and tools to help faculty prepare for and respond to two common disruption scenarios:
Canvas Outage
While rare, system outages can temporarily limit access to Canvas and other instructional technologies. The resources below can help faculty prepare for these situations by providing guidance on backing up course content and grades, communicating with students outside of Canvas, accessing course materials through alternative platforms, and implementing temporary instructional plans until Canvas services are restored.
This training will help you prepare for and respond to a Canvas outage by identifying alternative methods for communicating with students, accessing course materials, distributing instructional content, and maintaining essential course records. You will also learn best practices for backing up your Canvas courses and gradebook, as well as strategies for continuing instruction until Canvas services are restored. (Training still in development, check back for self-enroll link.)
Backing up your Canvas course and gradebook are two of the most important steps you can take to prepare for an unexpected Canvas outage. Course backups provide access to instructional materials such as pages, assignments, discussions, quizzes, and modules through an IMSCC file viewer, allowing you to retrieve content and continue instruction using alternative methods if Canvas is unavailable. Gradebook backups ensure that you retain access to student grades, assignment completion records, and academic progress information, enabling you to continue supporting students and managing course records during an outage.
To maintain academic continuity, instructors should regularly export and save a backup of their Canvas courses whenever significant course updates are made and download a copy of their gradebook at least weekly, with additional backups performed during periods of heavy grading activity. Maintaining current backups of both course content and grade data helps minimize disruptions, protects against data loss, and ensures that teaching and learning can continue even during an extended technology-related interruption.
for instructions for backing up your Canvas course and gradebook.
When Canvas is unavailable, one of the most important actions you can take is to communicate with your students as quickly as possible. Prompt communication helps reduce confusion, reassures students that you are aware of the situation, and establishes clear expectations while normal course operations are disrupted.
for steps on how to email your students outside of Canvas so you can maintain communication during an outage. Your initial message to students should acknowledge the outage, assure students that you will be flexible and fair regarding coursework, deadlines, and participation requirements, and provide a temporary plan for how the class will continue until Canvas services are restored. Taking these steps early helps maintain student confidence and ensures that learning can continue with minimal disruption.
During an extended Canvas outage, students may still be able to access many of their course materials directly through external resources. Before communicating specific instructions to students, it is important to determine which type of course materials are used in your course and where those materials are hosted.
In many cases, students can continue accessing required content through one of two primary sources:
E-Books Through First Day
In the event of a Canvas outage, students can use the Yuzu platform to access their e-books. This would strictly be for e-books only. Courseware would not show up on this platform. Below is a one-pager PDF document that shows how students would access their e-book through Yuzu. They would need to use their Titan's e-mail address and select "Forgot Password?" to have a one-time password sent to them. This will give them access to the Yuzu library where they will see their e-book(s).
for how to access an e-book outside of Canvas.
Publisher Courseware
If your course utilizes publisher courseware such as MyLab, Connect, MindTap, Cengage, Achieve, or similar platforms, students may be able to access course content, assignments, and learning activities directly through the publisher's website. Depending on the platform, students may need to log in using credentials they previously established when accessing the courseware through Canvas. Contact your Publisher Representative to find out more information about the options that are available to your students.
Campus Closure
In times of planned/unplanned events, offering an online class session is a proactive way to maintain academic continuity when meeting face-to-face is not an option. Eastern Florida’s Learning Management System, Canvas, provides solutions that allow faculty to engage with their students in a multitude of ways. Online learning is comprised of many aspects including the dissemination of content, student collaboration, student assignments and/or activities, and communication — all completed virtually within the learning management system.
Below you will find Â鶹ֱ²¥ support contacts and ways you can start migrating your in-class activities into an online format, as well as training and resources that are available to keep you ahead of the game.
This training provides faculty with strategies, tools, and resources to maintain instructional continuity when campus facilities are unavailable. You will learn how to communicate effectively with students, access and deliver course materials remotely, adapt instructional activities, and make informed decisions about assignments, assessments, and attendance during a campus closure. today!
for alternative options for a variety of in-class activities in either a synchronous (real-time) or asynchronous (any time but with due dates) online format.
Canvas Instructor Training (CIT) takes about 3-5 hours to complete on average and is self-paced and facilitated online in Â鶹ֱ²¥'s Canvas Learning Management System. All new instructors are automatically enrolled in CIT and it will appear in their list of courses in Canvas. If you have not yet completed Canvas Instructor Training (CIT) you should do this as soon as possible so you can receive a Canvas course shell to house your course materials online. If you have already completed the training, you are able to access CIT at any time for a refresher.
NOTE: If you do not see Canvas Instructor Training (CIT) in your list of courses in Canvas, contact a member of Academic Technology.
All first-time online students must complete the Canvas Student Orientation before full access is available to online courses. Your students can visit the Canvas web page for more information.
You may also refer your students to the site that will be helpful if they are not familiar with Canvas and online learning.
The AcTec Canvas section contains many links that will be helpful as you work to get your content online and in Canvas.
For Canvas How-To Questions contact a member of Academic Technology or reach out to a .
For Technical Canvas Assistance, contact Â鶹ֱ²¥'s Canvas Support Desk at 321-433-7600 or .
The Â鶹ֱ²¥ Library has many great resources available for faculty on the Library homepage, the Faculty Services page, and the for research.