How To Add Requirements and Prerequisites in Canvas

Issue Date: 09-07-2018

Requirements and Prerequisites in Canvas allow you to put conditions on what must be completed in your course, and in what order, before other content is accessible. For example, the student must complete an assignment and pass an exam in Module 1, before accessing Module 2.

Adding Requirements

To use prerequisites, you must first define the requirements of a module. Requirements determine the conditions necessary for a module to be considered completed.

Requirements can be based on any content within your module. What requirement options are available will depend on the type of content:

• View the item: Students must view the item.
• Mark as done: Students must mark the assignment or page as done before they can progress to the next item. This option also synchronizes with the student List View Dashboard and completes the item for the student. However, this behavior is only supported when the item with this requirement is located in one module. Adding the same item within multiple modules is not supported.
• Contribute to the page: Students must post a reply to a non-graded discussion or contribute content to a page (make sure students are allowed to edit pages in the course).
• Submit the assignment: Students must submit an assignment, post a reply to a graded discussion, or submit a quiz. (Canvas does not allow you to manually enter a grade to fulfill this requirement; a submission must be made by the student.)
• Score at least: Students must meet a minimum submission score. With this option, an additional field appears where you can enter the minimum score that students must earn. This option is available for all graded assignment types.

To add Requirements to a module: 

1. Click the module menu button
2. Click Edit

3. Click 'Add Requirement'
4. Select the content type, and the requirement
5. Repeat for as many requirements are needed
6. Use the option/checkbox to choose if students must meet one requirement, all requirements, or all requirements in sequential order.
7. Click Update Module.

For more information on using Requirements, please visit https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-13134-415261967

Adding Module Prerequisites

All modules after your first can have a prerequisite Module specified. This means to access that content, the requirements for the prerequisites must be met.

To select the prerequisites for a module: 

1. Click the modules menu button
2. Click Edit

3. Click ‘Add prerequisites’ and select the module whose requirements must be met

4. Repeat for as many prerequisites as required
5. Click Update Module

Your prerequisite(s) should now show up when looking at the module on the Modules page:

For more information on using Prerequisites, visit https://community.canvaslms.com/docs/DOC-13092-415241433

Student Perspective 

Once requirements and prerequisites are defined, students can view their status by looking at the icons on the right side of the module. The module status is shown at the top right, a minus icon if not completed. Circles or checkmark icons are shown for each requirement in a module – a circle means the requirement has not yet been met, checkmark is completed. Putting your mouse cursor over a circle will tell you what is needed to complete the requirement.

Though prerequisite content still has visibility it is locked, and will unlock once its prerequisite requirements have been met.

Tags: Canvas