Canvas provides an easy method to set up groups of students in your course. This may apply where you have group projects or wish to assign specific students to different activities within a course. This guide will introduce the basics of creating a group within your course.

Begin by clicking People in the navigation menu of your course.

Next, click the + Group Set button in the top right corner.

This will open the Create Group Set box. Here you will find a number of options to customize the group set for your specific course needs.

• Group Set Name: For the sake of organization and ease of use for students, it is recommended that you name the group by course code, as Canvas will draw all course groups from all course enrollments into the Groups area on the Canvas navigation bar (e.g., ABC123 Group Project)
• Self Sign-Up: Here you can allow students to sign up for groups on their own, if this suits your needs (this is not typically recommended). You may also require that students must be in the same section if your course is offered in multiple sections.
• Group Structure: Have Canvas automatically split students into the number of groups you determine or choose to create groups manually. *If using the automatic assign feature, you may have Canvas choose a student group leader (the first to join or at random), if applicable.

After creating your group(s), you can choose to further customize the settings.

In the example above, 2 groups have been automatically created by Canvas. If you would like to change the composition of these groups, you can drag-and-drop specific students from 1 group to another to change their membership. You may also indicate a group leader for each group by clicking on the kabob icon and selecting Set as Leader for the selected student. (Note: If you choose a group leader, you will be granting them additional privileges, such as the ability to change other students’ group memberships.)