Learn how to manage assessment dates when multiple course sections are merged into a single Canvas or Blackboard course.

Overview

This article covers:

How Date Syncing Works Between Blended Teaching and Your LMS
Understanding Start Dates, Due Dates, and End Dates
Integrated Textbooks
Why End Dates Are Still Important
Recommended Setup for Integrated Textbooks (With Example)
Unintegrated Textbooks
FAQ

1. How Date Syncing Works Between Blended Teaching and Your LMS

When assessments sync from Blended Teaching into Canvas or Blackboard:

Start dates sync to the LMS
Due dates sync to the LMS
End dates do not sync to the LMS

If multiple start dates or due dates are set on the same assessment in Blended Teaching:

Only the top date is sent to Canvas or Blackboard
All students will see that date in the LMS, even if it does not apply to them

This can result in Canvas or Blackboard displaying one date while Blended Teaching enforces a different date for a student.

2. Understanding Start Dates, Due Dates, and End Dates

Each date controls a different part of the assessment experience:

Start date
- The date and time when students are allowed to begin the assessment.
Due date
- The date and time when a submission is considered on time.
End date
- The hard cutoff for submissions. After this date and time, submissions are no longer accepted.

If there is a gap between the due date and the end date, students can submit late during that window. Once the end date is reached, the assessment automatically closes and submits.

3. Integrated Textbooks

If your textbook is integrated with Canvas or Blackboard, start dates and due dates automatically sync into the LMS.

3.1 When to set dates in Blended Teaching

You can set start dates and due dates directly in Blended Teaching if an assessment:

Uses the same dates for all sections, and
Does not require different availability or deadlines by section

In this case, the dates will sync cleanly to Canvas or Blackboard and apply consistently to all students.

3.2 Limitation when multiple dates are set on the same assessment

If different sections require different start dates or due dates for the same assessment:

Canvas and Blackboard only allow one start date and one due date to sync from an external system
All students will see the same date in the LMS
Students may see a different (correct) date when opening the assessment in Blended Teaching

To avoid confusion, section-specific start dates and due dates should be managed in the LMS, not in Blended Teaching.

Note: For integrated courses, sections in Blended Teaching are optional and are only needed if you want to enforce section-specific end dates. Otherwise, section-specific start and due dates can be managed entirely in Canvas or Blackboard.

4. Why End Dates Are Still Important

Even when start dates and due dates are managed in Canvas or Blackboard, end dates in Blended Teaching can be used to enforce a hard submission cutoff.

For integrated courses, creating sections in Blended Teaching is optional. Sections are only needed if you want Blended Teaching to enforce different end dates for different sections. If all students share the same cutoff, you can use a single end date—or no end date at all.

Without an end date, a student could:

Open an exam in Canvas just before the due date,
Use the full time limit (for example, two hours),
Submit well after the intended cutoff

When an end date is set in Blended Teaching:

The assessment automatically stops at the end date
The attempt is submitted immediately
The cutoff is enforced consistently for all students

End dates do not sync to the LMS, but they are essential for enforcing submission limits accurately.

5. Recommended Setup for Integrated Textbooks (With Example)

5.1 Example scenario

You have two sections combined into a single Canvas or Blackboard course, and you want different schedules for a final exam:

Section 1
- Start date: January 1
- Due date: January 3 at 11:59 PM
- End/Until date: January 3 at 11:59 PM

Section 2
- Start date: January 2
- Due date: January 4 at 11:59 PM
- End/Until date: January 4 at 11:59 PM

5.2 Correct setup

In Canvas or Blackboard

Assign the assessment to each section
Set section-specific start dates and due dates in the LMS
Set the Until date, if desired, to lock the assessment from being started after a certain cutoff.

In Blended Teaching

Do not set start dates or due dates
Set end dates only

This ensures that:

Canvas or Blackboard shows the correct dates to each section
The end date in Blended Teaching enforces a hard cutoff for submissions
The Until date in Canvas locks the link to the assessment from being opened after the specified time

Optional: Set late submission penalty

When using this setup, any late penalties must be set in your LMS. Blended teaching can only apply late submissions when an assessment has a due date and an end date set in Blended Teaching.

Note: While end dates are recommended, they are not required in this scenario (See more in the FAQ under: 7.7 Do I have to set end dates in Blended Teaching if I’m using multiple dates for different sections in my LMS?).

6. Unintegrated Textbooks

If your textbook is not integrated with Canvas or Blackboard:

Dates do not sync into the LMS
LMS date limitations do not apply

In this setup, you can:

Set start dates, due dates, and end dates directly in Blended Teaching
Assign different dates to different sections without issue
Rely entirely on Blended Teaching to control access and deadlines

Students will see and follow the correct dates directly in Blended Teaching.

7. FAQ

7.1 Why do my students see different dates in Canvas or Blackboard and Blended Teaching?

Canvas and Blackboard can only display one synced start date and one due date. If multiple dates exist in Blended Teaching, only one is shown in the LMS.

7.2 Does the end date affect whether a submission is on time?

No. The due date determines whether a submission is considered on time. The end date determines when submissions stop being accepted.

7.3 What is the safest setup for multiple sections in one LMS course?

Integrated textbook: Set start dates and due dates in Canvas or Blackboard, and use end dates in Blended Teaching.
Unintegrated textbook: Manage all dates directly in Blended Teaching.

7.4 I set dates in Canvas or Blackboard, how do I apply late-submission penalties?

If dates are set in Canvas or Blackboard, late submission penalties must also be set in Canvas or Blackboard. Any penalties set up in Blended Teaching will not work in this case, as no due date would be set.

7.5 Can I set the dates for my sections both in my LMS and in Blended Teaching?

No. For an integrated textbook, any start dates or due dates set in Blended Teaching will sync to your LMS and override the dates set in Canvas or Blackboard for that assessment.

If multiple dates are set on the same assessment in Blended Teaching:

Only one set of dates will sync to the LMS
That synced date comes from the first (top) date listed in Blended Teaching
Dates set for additional sections will not sync or update in the LMS

Using the example below, if an assessment has dates set for Section 1 and Section 2 in Blended Teaching, only the dates for Section 1 (the first entry in the list) will appear in Canvas or Blackboard. This behavior is based on the order of the dates in Blended Teaching, not on which date occurs earliest.

7.6 Do I have to set all of my dates in my LMS?

No. We recommend setting dates in Blended Teaching whenever all sections share the same schedule. You only need to set dates in Canvas or Blackboard for assessments that require different start dates or due dates for different sections within the same course.

**7.7 Do I have to set end dates in Blended Teaching if I’m using multiple dates for different sections in my LMS?**

No. End dates in Blended Teaching are not required. However, we recommend using them if you prefer assessments to automatically submit after a certain cutoff time.

You can choose to set:

One end date that applies to all students, or
Different end dates per section, if needed

If you rely only on start dates and due dates in Canvas or Blackboard, a student could open an assessment just before the LMS due date and continue working until their full time limit expires, even if that extends well past the intended cutoff.