How to Release an Assignment to Specific Students

By default, all assignments, discussions and quizzes are assigned to all students ("Everyone"). In the Edit Assignment > Assign Access area, you will see Assign to Everyone.  However, there are several scenarios in which you may need to assign work to only specific students. This tutorial walks you through several of these scenarios. 

Example Scenarios

You may need to assign to specific students in several scenarios, including but not limited to: 

• Granting a student an extension for an assignment. 

• Group assignments that vary by group set.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Due Date Extension

1. Navigate to your Canvas course and select the assignment, either from Modules or Assignments.
   
   
2. Once inside the assignment, navigate to the top right of the screen and select Edit. 
   
   
3. Scroll down to Assign Access.
   
   
   
   
4. Navigate to the bottom of the Assign Access box and select +Assign To.
   This will add an additional Assign Access box.
   
   
5. In this new box, navigate to the Assign To field and type in or scroll and select the student's name.
   
   
   
   
   
6. Then, navigate to the Due Date field and select the new, extended, due date for this student.
   
   
   
   
   
7. When you are done, you'll have one Assign To for Everyone (1) and one Assign To box for the student who is receiving an extension (2). 
   
   
   Note: DO NOT press the X next to Everyone or Everyone Else. This will remove the assignment from everyone else in your class, and delete it from the gradebook. Leave the original access and add new access for the student who is receiving an extension.
   
   
   
   
   

1. Navigate to your Canvas course and select the assignment, either from Modules or Assignments.
   
   
2. Once inside the assignment, navigate to the top right of the screen and select Edit. 
   
   
   
   
3. Scroll down in the assignment settings to the Group Assignment area and check the box next to This is a Group Assignment (1). Then, select the Group Set dropdown menu (2) and select the Group set you're using for this assignment (3). 
   
   
4. Scroll down to the Assign Access area (1) and select the dropdown menu in the Assign To field (2). Now that you've chosen which group set you're going to use for the assignment, all the groups in that group set will show in the dropdown menu and you can choose which group of students to assign this to (3).  
   
   
   
   
   
5. Once you have assigned the assignment to the appropriate group set, select the X next to Everyone Else or Everyone (1). This ensures that only the students in the appropriate group see the assignment.