Enhancement Request Form

This page explains the Cal Poly Canvas Support Team's current policy for requesting new Canvas integrations (LTIs and APIs). Because each integration requires ongoing technical support, security review, accessibility evaluation, and maintenance, campus resources limit the number of new integrations that can be adopted.

What Are Canvas Integrations?

Canvas integrations extend the functionality of Canvas by connecting it with third-party products and services. 

Common examples include publisher tools that allow students to access digital course materials, complete assignments, and receive grades directly within Canvas.

Why Is There an Approval Process?

Although installing integrations (LTI or API) is technically straightforward, every integration must undergo a comprehensive campus review before it can be used. This review helps ensure that the integration:

• Meets campus security and privacy requirements
• Is accessible to users with disabilities
• Complies with institutional policies
• Does not introduce unnecessary risk to the university

The review process involves multiple campus departments, including the Center for Teaching, Learning& Technology, Information Technology Services (ICT Accessibility & Security process), Procurement, and, when applicable, the Follett Bookstore. Many integrations also involve licensing or subscription costs.

In addition to the initial review, every approved integration requires ongoing maintenance. Canvas updates and vendor changes may require additional testing, accessibility reviews, documentation updates, user support, troubleshooting, and technical maintenance. As the number of integrations grows, so does the staff effort required to support them.

Canvas Integration Process

The evaluation and adoption process typically takes several weeks, including a minimum of two weeks for required ICT security and accessibility reviews and ten business days for the contract/term of use review. Requestors should expect to participate throughout the evaluation by providing information about the proposed tool and its intended use.

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

Requirements

The enhancement proposal process prioritizes new integrations (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 integration installations will be accepted only from department chairs and/or college dean’s offices (not from individual faculty members or product vendors).  

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

1. All integrations require an ICT review and a contract review from procurement. 
2. Some publisher integrations 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 integration installation request. 

Requests for new integrations in Canvas should meet the following criteria: 

• All content within must be accessible and meet WCAG 2.2 requirements. 
• 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. 
• All integrations must have a contract or project agreement that has been reviewed by procurement. 
• 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 integration 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 2.2 AAA compliance statement, a 3rd party accessibility review, security and privacy documentation, and a HECVAT document