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How to Enter a Due Date in Canvas?

Published in Canvas Due Dates 3 mins read


Setting due dates for assignments, quizzes, or other course items in Canvas is essential for organizing your course and communicating expectations to students. You can enter or adjust due dates either for individual items or efficiently manage multiple dates at once using the batch editing feature.

## Adjusting Due Dates in Canvas

Canvas provides flexible ways to manage your course deadlines. Whether you're creating a new assignment or need to shift dates for existing ones, you have options available.

### Method 1: Changing a Single Item's Due Date

For adjusting the due date of just one assignment, quiz, or other graded item, you typically edit the specific item's settings. While the exact location might vary slightly depending on the item type (e.g., Assignment, Quiz, Discussion), the core process involves locating the date field and making the change.

Here’s a general approach often used:

1.  Navigate to the list of your course content (like the Assignments index page, Quizzes, or Modules where the item resides).
2.  Find the specific item you wish to update.
3.  Often, you can either click on the item to edit its full settings or, in certain list views, you may find an option directly visible to modify the date.
4.  ***Use the option here to change that to a different date*** for the item. This usually involves clicking on the existing date or a date field and selecting a new date and time from a calendar or picker.
5.  Save the changes for the item.

### Method 2: Using Batch Edit for Multiple Items

Canvas offers a powerful "Batch Edit" feature, particularly useful when you need to shift dates for several assignments or activities simultaneously, such as when copying a course or adjusting for schedule changes. This method is highlighted in the provided reference.

Steps for using Batch Edit:

1.  Go to a page where items with due dates are listed and a Batch Edit option is available (this is often found on the main Assignments page).
2.  Look for and ***click batch edit at the top*** of the list.
3.  A new view or panel will appear, often displaying checkboxes next to each item.
4.  You can ***select all*** items if you need to edit all of them, or you can ***choose any ones that I want to just batch edit*** by checking the boxes next to the specific items you want to modify.
5.  Once items are selected, options will become available to change attributes like due dates, availability dates, or even points for the selected items.
6.  Enter the new due date(s) or apply date shifts (e.g., move all selected items forward by 7 days).
7.  Apply or save the batch changes.

Using Batch Edit can save significant time compared to editing each item individually, especially for courses with many graded activities.

## Comparing Due Date Entry Methods

| Feature         | Individual Editing                      | Batch Editing                             |
| :-------------- | :-------------------------------------- | :---------------------------------------- |
| **Best For**    | Adjusting a single item                 | Updating multiple items at once           |
| **Process**     | Edit item settings, change date field   | Select items from list, use Batch Edit tool |
| **Efficiency**  | Slower for many items                   | Much faster for bulk changes              |
| **Reference**   | Implied by "change that to a different date" | Explicitly mentioned and shown            |

Both methods allow you to precisely control deadlines within your Canvas course, ensuring students have accurate information about when work is due.