Enhancement Request Form

This page details the Cal Poly Canvas Support Team's current policy on new LTI/API installations. This policy, explained below after some context, is needed because the campus has limitations on resources to support additional LTI/API installations.

The Canvas LMS allows modest customization that is responsive to local (campus) priorities through system enhancements that provide faculty and students with seamless connections from within the Cal Poly Canvas system to third-party vendor products and services. These enhancements use the Learning Tools Interoperability (LTI) specifications, commonly referred to as “LTIs.” For example, publisher LTIs can provide students access to the publisher’s content and other tools within a Canvas course. In some cases vendors will request an API (Application Program Interface) to connect their product to the LMS. 

Each LTI/API installation within Canvas is fairly quick to accomplish. However, each LTI/API must be approved via the ICT Accessibility & Security process, which can take ITS staff a minimum of four weeks to complete. LTI/API installations also require resource costs over time. For example, each update to Canvas and/or to each LTI/API requires researching, testing, ICT review, installation, support pages, user support, and sometimes troubleshooting and fixing. The staff time required for those tasks accumulates as the number of LTIs/APIs increases.   

Please see the list of the current LTIs in Cal Poly Canvas. 

Policy

In response to the circumstances noted above, the enhancement proposal process will prioritize new LTIs/APIs that provide institutional value to faculty and students and thus provide benefits substantial enough to merit the time and effort required for installation, maintenance, and support. Therefore, requests for new LTI/API installations will be accepted only from department chairs and/or college dean’s offices (and not from individual faculty or product vendors).  

When considering an LTI/API request, please note the following: 

1. Instructors can still use a publisher’s/vendor resources without a Cal Poly Canvas LTI/API. In these instances, students would log in directly to the vendor’s system rather than accessing the products or services through their Canvas course.   
2. Some publisher LTIs/API may not be needed since Follett Bookstore - WillolLabs may already have options that will work with Cal Poly Canvas. Please inquire about this with the polyaccess@calpoly.edu team and the Cal Poly Course Materials Manager (Jared Isaeff: j.isaeff@follett.com) before submitting an LTI/API installation request. 

Requests for new LTI/API installations in Canvas should meet the following criteria: 

• The related product or service has been approved by Cal Poly’s ICT (Information and Communication Technology) Review process, which evaluates hardware and software on security and accessibility standards among other criteria. 
• A majority of faculty within a college or department have committed to using the related product or service broadly and consistently each year for multiple years, AND/OR...
• A significant number of students within a college or department (e.g., minimum 400-500/year) will use and benefit from the related product or service broadly and consistently for an extended time frame (e.g., multiple years). 
• The LTIs/APIs related product or service has been acquired as a university-level enterprise resource or by a college for broad use by its faculty. 
• There is no comparable product or service already installed into Canvas.
• Vendor content and services accessed through the requested LTI/API must meet the following accessibility requirements: 
  • Videos are captioned and audio transcribed accurately 
  • Content is accessible by screen readers 
  • All activities are available using only a keyboard 
  • Content can be accessed on mobile devices 
  • Vendor has a VPAT document, a WCAG 2.1 AA compliance statement, a 3rd party accessibility review, security and privacy documentation, and a HECVAT document