Canvas Catalog - F.A.Q. for Instructors and Facilitators


OPEN UMass to Canvas Catalog Transition

As part of the University’s multi-year transition to a singular learning management system, OPEN UMass is no longer available, effective December 15, 2023, and has been replaced by Canvas Catalog. 

Although Catalog uses the same Learning Management System as academic courses (Canvas), they are entirely separate services. You can request a Catalog course by using the Canvas Catalog Request Form.

More information on Canvas Catalog is available in the FAQ below. Instructors can reach out to instruct@umass.edu with additional questions. Course participants with questions on OPEN UMass should reach out to their course facilitators. Additional information on Canvas Catalog can be found in the Canvas Catalog FAQ for Students and Course Participants

On This Page:

General:

User Enrollment:

Content Creation:

What courses can be hosted on Catalog?

Courses, community projects, and working groups intended to enroll participants from outside the University, or a mix of UMass and external participants (individuals without UMass credentials), should use Catalog

Non-credit courses, trainings, and working groups involving only users with UMass credentials users only should request an internal non-academic course for UMass users

How do I request a Catalog course?

Please complete the Course on Catalog Request Form.

Is my Catalog account the same as my Canvas account? 

No. Since Catalog and the main Canvas instance are entirely separate services, the user accounts are separate as well. 

If it’s your first time logging into Catalog, please follow the steps below to create an account for yourself. 

Step 1: Go to https://umamherst-catalog.instructure.com/ 

Step 2: Input your preferred email address in the Email field. 

Step 3: Click on the Forgot Password link and follow the steps to reset your password 

Step 4: Once your password is reset successfully, come back to https://umamherst-catalog.instructure.com/  and log in with your email address and the password you just set up. 

If you failed to reset your password, please contact instruct@umass.edu for assistance. 

How do my students/participants enroll in my Catalog course?

If there is a fee associated with your course:

Follow the instructions below:

Step 1: Open the course page

Step 2: Click on Settings at the bottom of the Course Navigation Menu on the left side 

Step 3: Scroll down to the bottom of the Settings page 

Step 4: Click on the More options

Step 5: Check the checkbox for Let students self-enroll by sharing with them a secret URL or code

Step 6: Click on the button Update Course Details, the page will reload. 

Step 7: A paragraph will appear at the bottom of the Settings page: This course has enabled open enrollment. Students can self-enroll in the course once you share with them this URL: https://umamherst-catalog.instructure.com/enroll/######. Alternatively, they can sign up at https://umamherst-catalog.instructure.com/register and use the following join code: ######

Step 8: You can then copy and paste the paragraph to share with registered students who want to self-enroll in the course. 

If there is no fee associated with your course:

There are two options:

How to enroll teaching assistants into Catalog courses?

Only instructors with the ‘Catalog Course Facilitator’ role could enroll Teaching Assistants in a Catalog Course. 

Step 1: Open the Catalog Couse 

Step 2: Select People on the left side course navigation menu 

Step 3: Click on the + People button on the right side of the page 

Step 4: Enter the email address, and select TA under the drop-down list of Roles

Step 5: Click on Next

Step 6: Make sure it’s the correct person. Click on the Add Users button.

How do I create a Catalog course?

Catalog courses are created in the same way as academic courses, just in a different version of Canvas (called Catalog). Once you have your course shell, you can build your course using the same resources as you would for an academic course in Canvas. 

For information on creating a Canvas course, see Canvas Training and Resources.

Please note: some tools such as Echo360 and Canvas Studio are for academic course use only and may not be available in Catalog. If you have any questions, please contact instruct@umass.edu.

If I include links to resources or services that require a UMass Amherst NetID login, will non-UMass Amherst users enrolled in my Catalog course be able to access them?

Off-campus users login to Catalog using a Google account rather than a UMass Amherst NetID and will not have access to campus services such as Library databases that require authentication via NetID.

Can I request plug-ins, add-ons, or modifications to Catalog?

Catalog is an “out of the box” instance of Canvas and does not include many of the integrations available to instructors teaching through the main Canvas instance.

Is there any tool in Canvas and Catalog that could generate and award badges for course completion automatically?

Yes, there is a Badges tool in the main Canvas instance and Catalog, please visit the Badges tool in Canvas and Catalog.

Can I copy a course from the main Canvas instance to Catalog?

We recommend you follow the instructions below to export a course (A) from the main Canvas instance then import the course files into a course (B) in Catalog. 

Step 1: Log into the main Canvas instance via umass.edu/it/canvas . Open the course (A)

Step 2: Click on Settings at the bottom of the Course Navigation Menu on the left side

Step 3: Click on Export Course Content on the right side 

Step 4: Make sure Course is selected for Export Type, then click on the Create Export Button (Note: the Export process will take some time based on how large your course is, you can work on something else while waiting for the Export to finish.)

Step 5: Once the blue bar says: The course has been exported. You can reload the webpage. 

Step 6: There should be a clickable link named similar to Course Export from X minutes ago, click on the link to download the exported course file. 

Step 7: Log into Catalog via https://umamherst-catalog.instructure.com/login/canvas. Open the course B

Step 8: Click on Settings at the bottom of the Course Navigation Menu on the left side

Step 9: Click on Import Course Content on the right side 

Step 10: Content Type - select Canvas Course Export Package 

Step 11: Click on Choose File to choose the export file of Course A

Step 12: Content - Select All content 

Step 13: Click on the Import button

How to reset H5P activities in Catalog?

If your OPEN UMass courses contain any H5P - Interactive Activities, the H5P activities won’t be migrated into Catalog. But the H5P files will. To replicate the activities in Catalog, you will need to set the H5P activities up. 

Preparation: Open your OPEN UMASS course to easily grab the activity’s name and locate the specific H5P file. 

Step 1: Open the migrated course in Catalog

Step 2: Click on Files on the course navigation menu on the left side

Step 3: In the Search bar on the top, input: h5p, and click on the amplifier search button (the magnifier icon)

Step 4: Select all the appearing files by clicking on any blank space within the row of a file, then press the Shift key on your keyboard, and keep selecting until you select all the .h5p files.

Step 5: Click on the download button on the top menu bar to download all H5P files to your local computer. 

Step 6: To embed an H5P activity in a Catalog course, click on the Modules page on the course navigation menu on the left side.

Step 7: Within the module in which you want to embed the H5P activity, click on the + icon on the right top corner of the module block. 

Step 8: Click on the drop-down menu behind ‘Add’, and select Page

Step 9: Select [Create page]

Step 10: Input the Name of the page, and click on the Add item button. 

Step 11: Once the page is added to the module, click on the page to open it, then select Edit on the right top corner. 

Step 12: Once the ‘Edit page’ finishes loading, click on the All Apps button (the plug icon) on the top of the tool menu, and select View All

Step 13: Select H5P - Interactive Activities

Step 14: Wait until the H5P pop window finishes loading, click on the Add content button on the left top corner 

Step 15: Select Upload on the top, and wait until the window loads. 

Step 16: Click on the Upload a file button

Step 17: Select the file you want to upload. (Tip: How to know which H5P file you should select? Open the OPEN UMass course page, turn on the Edit mode, click on Edit Settings for the specific H5P activities, scroll down to the Package File section, and click on the H5P file icon,  you will be able to tell what the exact file name is. )

Step 18: Back to the Catalog if you were at OPEN UMass, Click on the Use button 

Step 19: Once the window finishes loading, the file you just clicked ‘Use’ on will appear on the My content page. 

Step 20: Select the file, and click on the Insert button. 

Step 21: Once the H5P activity is successfully embedded, you can click on the Save button at the right bottom corner of the page to save the changes.


Need Help Now?

IDEAS is available for drop-in support on Monday through Friday, 10 am to 3 pm:

To schedule an appointment, please contact us at instruct@umass.edu.