# Using Coursera in Canvas

## 🔍 What Is Coursera?

Coursera is a leading global online learning platform that offers flexible, high-quality courses from top universities and organizations.

Through A-State’s partnership with Coursera, faculty, staff, and students have access to a wide range of learning opportunities, including courses, professional certificates, and micro-credentials from industry leaders such as Google, Meta, and IBM.

Through the **Coursera Career Academy**, A-State provides access to hundreds of courses focused on career development and workforce-ready skills. These courses can be incorporated into Canvas to enhance instruction and provide students with opportunities to build practical, real-world knowledge alongside their academic coursework.

Faculty are encouraged to integrate Coursera into their courses to:

<div id="bkmrk-offer-industry-recog">- Offer industry-recognized content
- Assign structured learning as part of course activities
- Provide students opportunities to earn additional credentials
- Connect academic learning with career-relevant skills

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</div>### 🎓 Types of Coursera Content You Can Add

When using Coursera in Canvas, you can assign different types of content:

<div id="bkmrk-courses-%E2%80%93-full-multi">- **Courses** – Full multi-module learning experiences
- **Videos** – Individual lecture videos or short content segments
- **Projects** – Hands-on assignments and applied learning experiences
- **Guided Projects** – Structured, step-by-step project activities

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</div>## 🔐 How Coursera Access Works

Students must be **logged in to Coursera using their A-State account** to access licensed content.

<div id="bkmrk-when-coursera-is-add">- When Coursera is added using the External Tool in Canvas, authentication is handled automatically in most cases
- When using direct links, students must already be signed in for access to work correctly

</div>📘 Student resources:  
➤[ *Career Academy for Students: Quick Start Guide*](https://kb.astate.edu/books/coursera/page/career-academy-for-students-quick-start-guide)  
➤ [*Career Academy for Students: Finding a Course*](https://kb.astate.edu/books/coursera/page/career-academy-for-students-finding-a-course)

📘 Additional information:  
➤ [*A-State Coursera Overview*](https://kb.astate.edu/books/coursera/page/a-state-coursera)  
➤[ *Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)*](https://kb.astate.edu/books/coursera/page/frequently-asked-questions-faqs)

<div id="bkmrk-">---

</div>### ❓ Why Students Might Be Asked to Pay

Students may encounter a payment prompt if:

<div id="bkmrk-they-accessed-a-cour">- They accessed a Coursera link while **not logged in**
- They are using a **personal Coursera account instead of their A-State account**
- The selected course is **not included in the licensed Coursera catalog**

</div>#### How to Fix It

<div id="bkmrk-have-students-sign-i">- Have students sign in using their A-State account
- Direct them to access the course **through Canvas**
- Confirm the course is part of the licensed Coursera offerings
- Replace direct links with External Tool links if issues continue

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</div>### 🛠️ Notes and Limitations

<div id="bkmrk-coursera-may-not-app">- Coursera may **not appear in the Rich Text Editor (Apps menu)**
- Not all Coursera content supports grade passback
- Available content depends on the university’s license
- The Canvas **Student View** feature does not fully support Coursera testing

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</div>## 🔗 Adding Direct Links (Use with Caution)

Faculty can add direct links to Coursera content in Canvas (Pages, Assignments, Announcements, etc.), but this method has limitations.

### When Direct Links Work (and Why They Fail)

Direct links to Coursera will work if:

<div id="bkmrk-the-student-is-logge">- The student is logged in to Coursera with their A-State account
- The selected course is included in the university’s licensed content

</div>If either of these conditions is not met, students may be prompted to pay or be unable to access the course.

<div id="bkmrk--1">---

</div>### ✅ Recommendation

Use the **External Tool** for a more reliable and consistent student experience.

<div id="bkmrk--2">---

</div>## ✅ Adding Coursera Using External Tool (Recommended)

Coursera content can be added to Canvas using the **External Tool integration**, which provides several key benefits:

<div id="bkmrk-%E2%9C%85-ensures-students-a">- ✅ Ensures students access Coursera through the university license
- ✅ Helps avoid payment prompts by routing students through the correct authentication process
- ✅ Supports **grade passback** to the Canvas gradebook (when available)
- ✅ Allows students to access content directly without searching

</div>In most cases, this method also handles Coursera authentication automatically when students launch the content in Canvas.

> ℹ️ The Coursera External Tool can be added from either **Modules** or **Assignments**.

<div id="bkmrk--3">---

</div>### 🎯 Modules vs Assignments: What’s the Difference?

Both **Modules** and **Assignments** allow you to add Coursera content using the External Tool and **track student completion and grades** in Canvas (when supported).

The difference is based on how you choose to organize your course:

<div id="bkmrk-use-modules-if-you-a">- Use **Modules** if you are organizing your course content into a structured sequence (e.g., weekly units or learning paths)
- Use **Assignments** if you are not using Modules and want to add Coursera content directly to the gradebook

</div>Coursera content added through Modules will still be **configured as a graded activity** and report to the Canvas gradebook, except in cases where the selected content (such as videos) does not support grading.

<div id="bkmrk--4">---

</div><details id="bkmrk-%E2%9E%95-option-1%3A-add-thro"><summary>➕ Option 1: Add Through Modules</summary>

#### Steps

<div id="bkmrk-open-your-canvas-cou">1. Open your Canvas course
2. Go to **Modules**
3. Click **+ (Add Item)** [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/esXimage.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/esXimage.png)
4. Select **External Tool**
5. From the list, select **Coursera LTI (Native)**[![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/7ffimage.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/7ffimage.png)
6. Choose the Coursera program 
    - (e.g., *Arkansas State Full Catalogue Program*)  
        [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/Emyimage.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/Emyimage.png)
7. Search for and select a course or content  
    [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/Sluimage.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/Sluimage.png)
8. Configure settings (if prompted)  
    [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/mu4image.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/mu4image.png)
9. Click **Confirm**, and then **Add Item.**

</div></details><div id="bkmrk--5">---

</div><details id="bkmrk-%F0%9F%93%9D-option-2%3A-add-as-a"><summary>📝 Option 2: Add as an Assignment</summary>

#### Steps

<div id="bkmrk-go-to-assignments-cl">1. Go to **Assignments**
2. Click **+ Assignment** [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/NGKimage.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/NGKimage.png)
3. Enter assignment details
4. Under **Submission Type**, select **External Tool** [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/3Vkimage.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/3Vkimage.png)
5. Click **Find** [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/hpqimage.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/hpqimage.png)
6. Select Coursera LTI (Native)  
    [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/UIyimage.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/UIyimage.png)
7. Choose the Coursera program 
    - (e.g., *Arkansas State Full Catalogue Program*)  
        [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/ydSimage.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/ydSimage.png)
8. Search for and select a course or content  
    [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/Sluimage.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/Sluimage.png)
9. Configure grading settings  
    [![image.png](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/scaled-1680-/mu4image.png)](https://kb.astate.edu/uploads/images/gallery/2026-06/mu4image.png)
10. Click **Confirm** and **Select**
11. Click **Save** or **Save &amp; Publish** to create the assignment.

</div></details><div id="bkmrk--6">---

</div>## 📊 Grading and Grade Passback

Grading behavior depends on the type of Coursera content selected.

### ✅ Supports Grade Passback

The following content types can return grades to Canvas:

<div id="bkmrk-courses-projects-gui">- Courses
- Projects
- Guided Projects

</div>These may be configured to return:

<div id="bkmrk-a-final-grade%2C-or-in">- A **final grade**, or
- **individual item grades**, depending on the content

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</div>### ⚠️ Limited Grading Support

<div id="bkmrk-videos-typically-do-">- Videos typically **do not include gradable components**
- Best used for **instructional or supplemental purposes**

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</div>## 💡 Instructional Tip

> Use **Courses or Guided Projects** for structured, graded learning activities.  
> Use **Videos** to supplement instruction with shorter content.

<div id="bkmrk--7">---

</div>## ✅ Best Practice

> Test Coursera content using a **real student account** whenever possible.

The Canvas **Student View** feature does not fully support Coursera testing. Because it creates a temporary user without an associated email address, Coursera authentication will fail and may result in an error.

### Recommended Testing Methods

<div id="bkmrk-ask-a-student-%28or-co">- Ask a student (or colleague with a student role) to test the link
- Use a test student account with a valid A-State email
- Confirm the student can access the content without a payment prompt

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</div>## 📩 Need Help?

<div id="bkmrk-cetl-%E2%80%93-cetl%40astate.e">- **CETL** – <CETL@AState.edu> | 870-972-2334
- **A-State Online Faculty Support** – <facultysupport@astate.edu>

</div>For access or licensing issues, requests may be routed to the Coursera administrator.

<div id="bkmrk--8">---

</div>## ✅ Related Resources

<div id="bkmrk-coursera-canvas-for-">- [*Coursera*](https://kb.astate.edu/books/coursera)
- [Canvas for Educators](https://kb.astate.edu/books/learning-technology/chapter/canvas-for-educators)

</div>