Date

February 25, 2026

Type

Knowledge Base (KB)

Owner

Alex D'Adamo

When instructors merge multiple sections into one combined Canvas course (merged course), or when courses are cross-listed, it can streamline tasks such as content management and grading. However, it also changes how communication and collaboration tools function, particularly Discussions.

By default, students in a Canvas course using a standard (non-group) discussion can see and reply to all other students in the course.

In a merged or cross-listed course, this becomes problematic because students from different sections can communicate with one another in a discussion board, if not configured correctly. In some cases, this unintended cross-section visibility can violate FERPA, since students may be exposed to peers outside of their officially enrolled section.

This is easily solved by creating a group set in your course, called “Sections,” and creating a group for each section within that group set. When set up correctly, Canvas will automatically add each student to the appropriate group for their section.

Here’s how to set everything up:

Creating the Group Set and “Sections” Groups

1. In your Canvas course navigation, open the People area.

2. Select the blue “+ Group Set” button in the top right corner.

3. For Group Set Name, enter the name “Sections.”
4. For Group Structure, select “Split students by number of groups,” and then set the number of groups to be equal to the number of sections in your course.
5. IMPORTANT: Under the number of groups, check the box for “Require group members to be in the same section.”
6. IMPORTANT: Do not check the boxes for “Allow self sign-up” or “Automatically assign a group leader.”
7. Select the blue “Save” button.

You now have a groups in your course equal to the number of sections in the course shell. For ease of management, you’ll want to rename each group with the section information, the default name Canvas assigns to groups is “Section #” which is not accurate.

8. Select the three dots next to each section and select “Edit.”
9. In “Group Name” enter the new name for the group, the section of the course. Do not set a group membership limit.


If you’re not sure which group is which, select the “Cancel” button, then use the arrow to the left of the section name to show the students in the group. Use the students in the group to determine which group is what section, then start again from step 8.

10. Select the blue “Save” button.

Your groups are now named according to the sections in your course.

Now that your groups are created and properly named, you need to assign the discussion board to each section.

Assigning a Discussion Board to “Sections” Groups

1. In your Canvas course navigation, open the Discussions area.
2. Select the three dots next to the discussion you want to assign, and select “Edit.”

3. Under “Options,” check the box for “This is a Group Discussion,” then for the Group Set choose “Sections.”

4. Select the blue “Save” button in the bottom right to save.

The discussion board is now assigned to students, and they are not able to see replies to the board by students in other sections of the course.

Optional: Setting Different Available/Due Dates for a Discussion Based on “Sections” Groups

If you want to set different available/due dates for the discussion depending on the section, follow these steps:

1. In your Canvas course navigation, open the Discussions area.
2. Select the three dots next to the discussion you want to assign, and select “Edit.”

3. Scroll down to the “Assign Access” area, select the “+ Assign To” button and then scroll down.

4. In the “Assign To” box, click and select the first section of your course. Then, set the due date for that section.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 above for all sections in your course.
6. Select the blue “Save” button in the bottom right to save.

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