Course Analytics

Course analytics will show you activity, assignment submissions, grades, and students. You can view analytics in both active and concluded courses.

Notes:

Viewing analytics is a course permission. If you cannot view analytics, your institution has restricted this feature.
The Analytics button only displays once students have been enrolled and students have started to participate in the course.

Open Courses

In Global Navigation, click the Courses link [1], then click the name of the course [2].

Open Course Analytics

Click the View Course Analytics button.

View Analytics Graphs

By default, analytics are shown in a graph format. There are three types of graphs: Activity by Date, Submissions, and Grades.

View Activity by Date

The Activity by Date graph shows all course activity for all users in the course. The x-axis represents the course dates, while the y-axis represents the number of page views. Dark blue bars represent participation in the course. If a date only includes page views, the bar only displays as light blue.

The graph changes the bar display according to the length of time. Activity that is less than six months old displays bars as daily activity, at six months bars are displayed as weekly activity, and at approximately a year bars are displayed as monthly activity.

To view the details of the bar graph, hover over the specific bar you want to view. The weekly view shows the first and last date for the week; the monthly view shows the month and the year.

The following user actions will generate analytics course participation:

Announcements: posts an announcement (instructor)
Announcements: posts a new comment to an announcement
Assignments: updates an assignment's settings or description (instructor)
Assignments: submits an assignment (student)
Calendar: updates a calendar event's settings or description (instructor)
Collaborations: loads a collaboration to view/edit a document
Conferences: joins a web conference
Discussions: posts a new comment to a discussion
Pages: creates a wiki page
Quizzes: submits a quiz (student)
Quizzes: starts taking a quiz (student)

View Submissions

The Submissions Graph shows the status of each assignment in the course. The x-axis represents the assignments, while the y-axis represents the percentage of submissions for all students in the course.

The green rounded shape at the bottom of the bar indicates how many students submitted the assignment on time [1]. The yellow straight-edge shape indicates how many students submitted the assignment late/past due [2]. The red rounded shape at the top of the bar indicates how many students have not submitted the assignment [3].

To view the details of the bar graph, hover over the specific bar you want to view. The details include the assignment title, the due date (if any), and the percentage of late, on time, and missing submissions.

Note: The bars will only extend to the edge of the dates available for the course, even if there is an assignment or quiz that extends beyond the course start and end dates. The graph will include a note graph explaining there are assignments outside of the course dates.

View Grades

The Grades graph shows the median, high, and low scores for an assignment. The x-axis represents each assignment, while the y-axis represents the number of points for an assignment. The vertical blue line extends from the lowest score to the highest score [1]. The blue box extends from the 25th to 75th percentile [2]. The horizontal black line shows the median score for the assignment [3]. Gray lines indicate muted assignments [4].

To view the details of the bar graph, hover over the specific bar you want to view.

View Analytics Tables

To view analytics without hovering over graph columns, you can view all data in a table format. To switch to the table format, click the Analytics icon. The icon will switch from the left side to the right, indicating the current analytics view.

View Table Data

Tables apply to every graph in its respective page, and each column defines the data within its respective graph. Graphical data is displayed by column.

Each table is paginated to 30 entries per page; additional pages can be viewed by advancing to the next page.

View Student Analytics

Student Analytics are always shown in a table format and displays an overview of student participation in the course.

You can view the student name [1], page views [2], participations [3], and submissions [4].

The Submissions column shows how many published and graded assignments each student is assigned in the course. Submissions are broken down according to how many submissions were on time [5], late [6], and missing [7]. Note that an assignment only counts as missing if the due date has passed and it has not been submitted.

You can also view a student's current score percentage [8], which is their total score in the course.

The analytics table is paginated so you can view more students if you continue to scroll down the page.

Sort Student Analytics

You can sort student analytics in ascending or descending order by student name, page views, participations, and current score. These filters allow you to evaluate student performance according to your preference.

View Student Analytics

Student analytics show you how well a particular student is doing in your course. You can also view student analytics after your course has concluded.

Your institution may allow students to view their own course analytics, which helps show them accurate information about their course activity and interactions. If this permission is enabled, your view and the student's view of their analytics is the same.

Notes:

Viewing analytics is a course permission. If you cannot view analytics, your institution has restricted this feature.
Analytics can also be accessed through the People page and viewing a student's user details page.

Open Courses

In Global Navigation, click the Courses link [1], then click the name of the course [2].

Open Course Analytics

Click the View Course Analytics button.

Open Student Analytics

In the Student Analytics table, click the name of the student.

To locate a student, you can sort the table by student name, page views, participates, and current score. The analytics table is paginated so you can view more students if you continue to scroll on the page.

View Student Information

When viewing analytics for an individual student, you can view the student's name and current percentage in the course [1]. To send a message directly to the student, click the mail icon [2].

To view analytics for a different student, click the next or previous buttons in the user menu [3], or locate the student in the drop-down menu [4].

View Analytics Graphs

By default, analytics are shown in a graph format. These are four types of graphs: Activity by Date, Communication, Submissions, and Grades.

View Activity by Date

The Activity by Date graph shows all course activity for the student. The x-axis represents the course dates, while the y-axis represents the number of page views. Dark blue bars represent participation in the course. If a date only includes page views, the bar only displays as light blue.

The graph changes the bar display according to the length of time. Activity that is less than six months old displays bars as daily activity, at six months bars are displayed as weekly activity, and at approximately a year bars are displayed as monthly activity. To view the details of the bar graph, hover over the specific bar you want to view. The weekly view shows the first and last date for the week; the monthly view shows the month and the year.

The following user actions will generate analytics course participation:

loads a collaboration to view/edit the document
joins a web conference
posts a new comment to a discussion or an announcement
submits a quiz
starts taking a quiz
submits an assignment
creates a wiki page

You can also view specific content participation data in the course access report.

View Communication

The Communication graph shows the conversations that have taken place between the student and instructor(s) in the Canvas Inbox. The y-axis represents the user type; orange message icons show when a student sent a message to an instructor, and blue message icons show when an instructor sent a message to the student. The x-axis represents the interaction date.

To view the details of the bar graph, hover over the specific bar you want to view. You can view the date of the communication and how many messages were sent. A message is an individual message passed from one user to the other; in message threads, each message is individually counted. In group conversations, interactions are counted as long as the student is one of the recipients. Notifications are not included in analytics unless the user acts on the notification and generates a new message that passes through the Canvas Inbox. Announcements are not included in communication analytics.

You can also view specific communication data in the student interactions report.

View Submissions

The Submissions graph shows the status of each submission for the student. The y-axis represents each assignment, while the x-axis represents the submission date. A green circle indicates an assignment that was submitted on time. A yellow triangle indicates an assignment that was submitted late. A red square indicates an assignment that is missing (not submitted). A white circle with a black outline indicates an assignment with a future due date.

If a submission includes a due date, the submission may include horizontal line. The line indicates when the assignment was submitted, while the shape indicates the actual due date. If a submission was submitted before the due date, the horizontal line is green; if it was submitted after the due date, the horizontal line is yellow. Submissions without a horizontal line either have no due date, or the assignment was submitted on the due date.

To view the details of the bar graph, hover over the specific bar you want to view. Current and past assignments include the assignment title, the due date (if any), the submission date, and the score. Future assignments include the assignment title, due date (if any), and the score.

Note: The Submissions chart does not include information about assignments that do not require a submission (e.g., not graded, on paper assignments), excused assignments, or assignments that do not apply to a student because of differentiated assignments.

View Grades

The Grades graph shows the median, high, and low scores for each assignment. The x-axis represents each assignment, while the y-axis represents the number of points for an assignment. The vertical black line extends from the highest score to the lowest score [1]. The gray box extends from the 75th percentile to 25th percentile [2]. The horizontal black line shows the median score for the assignment [3].

The student's score is indicated by the same shapes found in the Submissions graph. A green circle indicates an assignment with a good score. A yellow triangle indicates an assignment with a fair score. A red square indicates an assignment with a poor score.

To view assignment names and details, hover your cursor over the graph [4].

View Analytics Tables

To view analytics without hovering over graph columns, you can view all data in a table format. To switch to the table format, click the Analytics icon. The icon will switch from the left side to the right, indicating the current analytics view.

View Table Data

Tables apply to every graph in its respective page, and each column defines the data within its respective graph. Graphical data is displayed by column.

Each table is paginated to 30 entries per page; additional pages can be viewed by advancing to the next page.