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Academic Impacts of the Canvas Outage - May 7 Update

May 7, 2026

Dear SLU Community, 

As you know, SLU is experiencing a Canvas outage, like many other colleges and universities around the world. Such an outage is stressful at any time of year, but it is especially so during finals. 

I write tonight with preliminary information about how faculty and students should approach finals and the completion of course activities for the spring semester. I recognize the information will feel incomplete, but we wanted to provide initial guidance as soon as we could – and we will continue to keep you informed as we learn more and have additional guidance. 

First, let me encourage everyone to remain as calm as possible. We will work together to ensure courses and grading are able to be completed with integrity as we move forward. We will do this in compliance and consultation with accrediting bodies as needed. Like many other institutions experiencing this outage, we may need to make adjustments to support students and faculty in order to complete the semester. 

Until Canvas access has been restored, please read your SLU email frequently to stay as informed as possible. Please do not attempt to access Canvas (including in the mobile app), or click on any links that appear to be from Canvas, until you receive a University message that the system is back up and safe to access.

What Do We Know Right Now?

  • Courses that do not use Canvas at all will continue with final exams, assignment submissions, and grading as originally planned. Final grades should be submitted via Banner.
  • In-person exams and course activities that do not require access to Canvas will continue as scheduled. 
  • Any course-related activities that require Canvas access (e.g., accessing course content, study materials, assignments, discussion boards, quizzes, exams, gradebook, etc.) cannot be completed while the outage continues.
  • Some students and instructors were in the middle of completing activities in Canvas (such as exams, assignments, and grading) when the system went down. We cannot answer questions about how those activities will be completed until Canvas service is restored.
  • Students concerned about completing their final exams/assignments, about their final course grades, and about the impact of delayed course completion on certification and/or licensure exams, pilot tests, entrance into graduate and professional programs, and many other activities that depend upon successful completion of this semester will be supported in completing these activities as needed.
  • Instructors concerned about grading final exams/assignments and about calculating/submitting final grades will be supported in completing these activities as needed.
  • If necessary, the final grade deadline (currently, 5 p.m. on May 14) will be extended, for individual instructors and/or for the University as a whole. We will make a determination about this as things unfold. 
  • Instructors and students may have travel plans or other obligations that begin immediately following the final exam period. We are committed to providing flexibility to the extent possible to support individuals completing their academic obligations for this semester.
  • Commencement ceremonies will continue as planned, though we recognize graduating students will be especially concerned about the disruption to finals. We are committed to supporting your completion of degree requirements. As is our normal practice, final determination of graduation status and review of final grades will take place over the next several weeks, even beyond commencement ceremonies. Graduates receive a diploma cover during commencement ceremonies, but diplomas are mailed after degree clearance is completed. Again, this is our normal practice. 

Additionally, specific instructions for both students and instructors is included below. Please continue to monitor your SLU email for additional updates from both ITS and the Provost office.

Sincerely,

Mike Lewis, Ph.D.
Provost

Specific Instructions for Students

  • Continue to monitor your SLU email for information about the outage and instructions from your instructors.
  • If your instructor asks you to do so, you may submit digital assignments to instructors via SLU email or another University system. Your instructors will provide information to your SLU email account if this is an option. Please do not submit assignments via alternative methods unless advised by your instructor to do so.
  • We have alerted the Testing Center about the Canvas outage and they know to anticipate potential difficulties.

Specific Instructions for Faculty/Instructors

  • If you do not use Canvas in any way for your courses, you may proceed with end-of-term activities as planned. 
    • Please email your students from your SLU email account to let them know nothing has changed in the case of your course(s). These instructions explain how to access the email list for your course roster(s); please do not attempt to email students through Banner.
  • If you wish, you may instruct students to submit final assignments using an alternative method (e.g., via SLU email account, SLU Google Drive or SLU OneDrive, or in hard copy). Note: Any digital assignments must be submitted via University systems. 
    • If your remaining course assignments/activities require more complex work-arounds, we encourage you to hold off on executing those at this time. If the outage continues, and more complex adjustments are needed, we will share additional information. The Reinert Center is available to help instructors think through appropriate contingency measures, should they be required. 
  • Remember that students will not be able to access study materials in Canvas. (If you have copies of study guides or other potentially necessary materials, you might consider sharing those with students via SLU email or another University system.)
  • Your students will be anxious about completing course activities, and you’re likely already hearing from them. We encourage you to email all students in your courses, to let them know you are aware of the challenges and that you are committed to supporting their completion of the semester when Canvas is available. Even if you don’t have new information to share, it may offer reassurance.