Pepperdine Canvas Site Types
Overview
Pepperdine Canvas is intentionally designed with a focus on academic, course-based instruction. For example, sites primarily used for file or information sharing are best suited to either Shared Drives or Google Sites in Google Workspace, while sites serving a student-facing academic purpose may be appropriate for the LMS.
Please review the following guidelines and support resources if you are looking for effective, collaborative digital spaces beyond official course instruction. Prior to requesting a Pepperdine Canvas site, Pepperdine faculty and staff members must review the following guidelines, definitions, use cases, management practices, and user support guidelines. Students are not eligible to request a Canvas site. Please note that submitting a request for a Pepperdine Canvas site does not guarantee approval. Each request will be reviewed to ensure it aligns with the University’s guidelines for LMS usage.
Pepperdine Canvas Eligibility Guidelines
As you determine the appropriate location for your site content, please consider the following Pepperdine Canvas eligibility items:
- Is it a supported academic purpose? Pepperdine Canvas is limited to approved academic purposes and select training sites. Not all academic uses will be supported, such as committee work, research projects, student organization sites, or similar goals.
- Does it require outside or non-Pepperdine participation? Pepperdine Canvas is limited to active students, faculty, and staff. If the site will include other audiences, such as alumni, peers at another institution, or other third parties, then another solution must be selected.
- Does it meet accessibility guidelines? All LMS content must adhere to digital accessibility regulations and guidelines. Content creators are responsible for ensuring compliance. Refer to the Faculty Resources for Digital Accessibility.
- Does it require more than 2 GB of space? Pepperdine Canvas sites provide 2 GB of storage space. For comparison, a Google Shared Drive offers 10 GB of space (and faculty/staff may purchase more space as needed). Note: Larger files, such as media files, should be stored on an appropriate solution such as Pepperdine Panopto or Pepperdine Google Drive.
- Should it persist beyond 5 years? LMS sites have a 5-year retention period. If the site or content should extend beyond 5 years, please consider other locations.
If needed, please see additional information concerning legacy project sites in Courses/Sakai.
Site Type Definitions
Key Site Differences at a Glance
| Option | Created By | Linked to Term/Course | Automatic Enrollments | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Official Class Sites | SIS (automated) | Yes | Yes | Academic, for-credit course sites. |
| Academic Program Sites | Manual request (Approval Required) | No | No | Student work not tied to official class sites. |
| Training Sites | Manual request (Approval Required) | No | No | University or School training initiatives. |
| Class Staging Sandbox | Manual request (Approval Required) | No | No | Design a school-wide, program-wide, or individual class template. |
| Personal Sandbox | Manual request (Approval Required) | No | No | Developing and testing LMS features. |
| Google Workspace | Students, faculty, or staff | No | No | Committee collaboration, internal department documentation, cross-departmental planning/working groups, internal/external research projects. |
Choosing the Best Destination
Not all sites are eligible as a Pepperdine Canvas LMS site. Consider whether another destination may be best for your use case:
| Use Case | Description | Eligible for Pepperdine Canvas? | Options |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academic Program Site (Student-facing) | An academic program needs to share information and communicate with students in an academic program, e.g., all Seaver English majors and minors, all incoming Caruso Malibu Law students, a first-year onboarding site, etc. The site may use tools like Announcements, Assignments, Modules, Files, Quizzes, and others to engage and inform students. | Yes* |
Please consider whether a Google Site, Shared Drive, and/or Google Group may be a better fit. A Google Group can manage membership and facilitate email announcements. A Google Site can present information and be shared privately with the Google Group. A Google Shared Drive can contain the files you wish to share and provide collaboration with peer faculty and academic staff. Else, request a Pepperdine Canvas academic program site (see "Request a Site" below). |
| Class Site (Class Staging Sandbox) | An instructor, instructional designer, program chair, or academic support person needs to design and develop an academic class site. The site will contain teaching materials, activities, and other content intended to be imported into a future live class with students. | Yes* |
Did you already build the class in a prior, official class? If yes, you can import the content to a future class. However, if this is a new design for the course, please request a Pepperdine Canvas class staging site (see "Request a Site" below). |
| Committee Site (Academic, Administrative, Departmental, or Other) | A school or department needs a site to share and store documents, send announcements, and/or serve as an information repository. The work may relate to an academic, departmental, or other purpose. | No | Please use Google Workspace. Use a Shared Drive for file storage and collaboration. Use a Google Group to manage the participants, to simplify sharing Google Drive content, and to send email announcements. Determine if a Google Site may be helpful for information presentation. |
| Research Project (Internal or Multi-institutional Research) | A faculty, staff, student, or other member of Pepperdine will work on a research project that may include internal and/or external people, such as collaborators at another academic institution. The site will primarily be used for file sharing, announcements, and possibly other features. | No | Please use Google Workspace. Use a Shared Drive for file storage and collaboration. Use a Google Group to manage the participants, to simplify sharing Google Drive content, and to send email announcements. Determine if a Google Site may be helpful for information presentation. |
| Student Organization or Club Site | A student group, club, or other student organization wants a place to store files, communicate with members, and collaborate on goals. | No | Please use Google Workspace. Use a Shared Drive for file storage and collaboration. Use a Google Group to manage the participants, to simplify sharing Google Drive content, and to send email announcements. Determine if a Google Site may be helpful for information presentation. |
Request a Site
Pending approval, requests may take up to fifteen (15) business days to process.
Tips for Support Staff
- Review the above University Guidelines and Legacy Project Site Process. Always confirm with the requester whether they need a Pepperdine Canvas site or should use Google Workspace instead.
- Encourage users to use class sites for anything involving students, assessments, and grading (i.e., official use).
- Guide faculty and staff to Pepperdine Canvas sites for student work not tied to official class sites, when appropriate.
- Review the differences between migrating a Sakai project site and requesting a new Pepperdine Canvas site; guide faculty and staff accordingly.