Class Site Creation Schedule

Target Creation Dates

The following table describes when class sites are created on Pepperdine Canvas. Class site creation will always happen on a business day (Monday-Friday). If a target date falls on a weekend, the process will be scheduled for the next business day. Given that the class site creation process takes several hours to complete, we ask everyone to please be patient and wait for up to 24 hours for creation to complete. Finally, class site creation relies on class data entered into WaveNet before each term by administrative staff at each school. If you do not see a class site after creation, please check your Faculty Center on WaveNet. If the class is not listed in WaveNet, consult with your school, program, or division office.

Note: With the exception of Seaver College, Summer 2025 was the final term for course creation on Courses/Sakai. Seaver College has allowed class sites for Fall 2025, but faculty are encouraged to use the new LMS, Pepperdine Canvas. All graduate schools will only find Fall classes on Pepperdine Canvas.

*SON class sites are only available on Pepperdine Canvas, not Courses/Sakai.

**SLP class sites are hosted on Digital Campus, not Pepperdine Canvas. Professors and students will contact 2U Support for questions about Digital Campus.

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How do I set up my new class site?

For Pepperdine Canvas, please refer to the Top 10 Checklist for a New Academic Term for your new class site and Pepperdine Canvas Top 10 Solutions for quick tips on using your class site. For webinar training on Pepperdine Canvas, sign up for a live, instructor-led workshop or review previously recorded webinars on Pepperdine Canvas Faculty Recorded Training Topics.

Need additional guidance? Our Technology & Learning staff can schedule a one-on-one consultation with you. Whether you are brand new to the platform, need a refresher, or want to explore an advanced feature in-depth, we are available to help our faculty make the most of the LMS!

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When are enrollments updated after course creation?

Pepperdine Canvas

Course updates, student enrollment changes, and faculty assignment changes are applied every four hours. Note: Newly matriculated students or recently hired professors may need additional time to process within WaveNet. It sometimes takes a full business day before a newly matriculated student's enrollment will appear in the LMS. Accounts and enrollments for new professors rely on HR processing the hire, applying the faculty role, and setting the start date.

* LMS Processing times may vary.

Courses/Sakai LMS

Student enrollments and faculty assignments are updated each business day, twice a day. Our student system creates update files around 6:45 AM and 2:00 PM Pacific. Courses LMS processes these files at 8 AM and 4 PM Pacific. It can take 10-30 minutes for enrollments to reflect after an update. If students register at 10 AM on Monday, they should be listed by 4:30 PM that same day. If students register after 1:45 PM, the enrollment should appear the next business morning by 8:30 AM.

NOTE: Newly matriculated/admitted students may need additional time to process within WaveNet. It sometimes takes a full business day before a newly matriculated student enrollment will appear in Courses.

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Why do I continue to see canceled classes in Pepperdine Canvas?

When a class is canceled in WaveNet, the corresponding class site in Pepperdine Canvas stops receiving any enrollment updates. This means that the canceled class site will continue to feature for instructors in the Dashboard and Courses navigation.

It is important for faculty to keep these canceled class sites unpublished in order to avoid student confusion.

In addition, instructors who no longer wish to see a canceled class in Pepperdine Canvas can customize their Courses list.

Instructors who have questions concerning a canceled class(es) are encouraged to contact their program/division office.

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As the instructor, what should I do if I don't see my class site?

Please review these common solutions or reasons:

1. Check the Creation Schedule. Class sites are created based on the Class Site Creation Schedule listed above. If the date for creation has not happened yet, please be patient.  After class site creation happens, you can then import the content to the official class site. 
2. Check WaveNet. Class sites and faculty assignments will depend on the information entered by your school into our student administration system. Go to your WaveNet Faculty Center and select the academic term. View your class rosters and verify that the class is listed as one of your teaching assignments. If the class or your teaching assignment has not been entered into WaveNet yet, then it will not be listed in Pepperdine Canvas. If your class assignment is missing, then please contact your school's program or division office to ask when the school will enter the class information for the given term.
3. Wait one business day. Class site creation generally begins based on the schedule above. The process takes several hours, so please be patient. Also, if the date falls on a weekend, the process will begin on the next business day with sites generally available to professors within 24 hours.
4. Check the "Dashboard" or "Courses" Left-Side Navigation. If you have taught several classes in the past, it's possible that your new sites may not appear as tabs in the learning management system. (The "Dashboard" or "Courses" Left-Side Navigation can accommodate up to 20 sites.) To view all of your sites, click the "Courses" menu in the left-side navigation. Your sites will be organized by academic term number. Look for the most recent semester/trimester and click the course card for the appropriate site. Professors can favorite their sites to quickly access their desired class sites. We also recommend unfavoriting older class sites to streamline your experience.
5. Newly hired professor? If you are a new hire, remember that your school must work with Human Resources to process your employment paperwork. Please check with your school program or division office so that they can update you on the status of your faculty assignment as well as your University NetworkID. Once your Pepperdine NetworkID account and email have been created, you will then be able to access University services like WaveNet and Pepperdine Canvas.
6. Very old class site? Pepperdine University has a five-year retention period for LMS class sites. If you are looking for a class site that was offered more than five years ago, it has likely been removed in the LMS Site Retention Period clean-up process.
7. Call IT Tech Central. If you have followed all of the above steps and the site is still not appearing, please contact IT Tech Central or your local school support team. You may reach Tech Central by phone at 310.506.4357 (HELP) or toll-free in the USA at 866.767.8623.  You may also fill out the online help request form.

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My students say they can't see my class site.

If your students say that they can't see or access your class site, please refer to the following:

• Did you publish your class site? Class sites are created "unpublished." This allows you, the professor, to set up your site privately before students can see the content or activities. When you're ready, you can publish your site with one click. Students will not be able to see your site until you publish it.
• Are they officially registered? Only officially registered students will be automatically enrolled in class sites on Pepperdine Canvas. Check your class roster in WaveNet and compare it to the People tool in Pepperdine Canvas. If the student is present in both areas (and not on a waitlist!), and your site is published, then simply direct the student to check the "Courses" menu in Pepperdine Canvas. They likely have more than 20 class sites and need to manage their class site favorites.
• Did they enroll the same day? The automated enrollment process runs six a day (every four hours). 
• Were they recently admitted? If the student has been newly admitted to the University, it can take time for the student's information to trickle through all systems. It can take at least one business day for all processes to complete within WaveNet before the person's network account, email, and enrollment information will populate into Google, Pepperdine Canvas, class email lists, etc.

You can also ask the student to refer to the Canvas Student Guide or ask them to call IT Tech Central at 310.506.4357 (HELP) or toll-free in the USA at 866.767.8623.

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My Teaching Assistant isn't listed with my class.

Only official faculty assignments and registered students are automatically enrolled in class sites based on data from WaveNet. It is the responsibility of the instructor(s) of a site to add any additional users, such as teaching assistants, graduate assistants, or other authorized individuals. 

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Someone is auditing my class. Should they be enrolled?

Only official faculty assignments and registered students are automatically enrolled in class sites based on data from WaveNet. Someone who audits a class is not an official student. A person who audits a class is simply permitted to attend or "sit in" on a class, nothing more. By auditing a class, there is no official record of enrollment, transcript, or final grade. Also, they are not required to complete any coursework or contribute to the class in any way; they simply are permitted to attend a live class session. If the person is also a current student, staff, or faculty member, then — at the sole discretion of the professor — the instructor may manually add the user to the LMS class site with the "Student" role. If the person is not an active student, staff, or faculty member, then there is no expectation of access to other University services; no University account/email will be issued, no access to licensed Library services will be available, no LMS access will be afforded, etc.

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See Also:

• LMS Retention Period
• Pepperdine Canvas Checklist for a New Academic Term
• Pepperdine Canvas Faculty Guides
• Pepperdine Syllabus

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