What are 3rd party tool integrations?

One of the driving factors behind Canvas adoption was the growing number of requests for improved support of third party tools and services, which Canvas can facilitate by supporting third party tools integrations. Third party tool integration functionality varies by tool; many integrations provide a single sign-on experience so that students do not need per-tool accounts. Some can also exchange data to, for example, populate the Canvas gradebook with students’ assignment scores from work completed in third party tools.

How are new integrations added?

First, the EEE Team consults with campus subject matter experts in security, FERPA, privacy, and other risk assessment areas to review potential integrations and determine whether or not we are able to support those integrations while safeguarding students’ information.

The EEE Team also reviews the technical requirements of each integration. While some integrations may be rejected due to concerns in these areas and others may take more time to review and integrate than is ideal, our goal is to fulfill these requests as often and as efficiently as possible.

When an integration is approved, the EEE Team manages configuring the integration in UCI Canvas. Most integrations are made available campus-wide, while some may be set up such that they are only available for courses in a particular school or department (for instance, in the case where a school or department has established a contract and funding model for use of a paid service that does not cover the broader campus).

Why are tools not enabled by default?

When a new integration is set up, it can be enabled or disabled by default. An enabled integration will generally result in a new link appearing in course space navigation menus (the list of tools that appears on the left-hand side of the screen within a Canvas course space).

In surveys, instructors have told us that the default course navigation menu can already be somewhat confusing due to the number of options. To avoid adding confusion, third party tools are typically set up as disabled by default so that they will not appear until instructors choose to enable them.

What do the integration statuses mean?

Please contact us if you would like to tell us that any of the tools listed here are a priority for you (campus demand is a factor in prioritizing this work) or if you’d like help figuring out who within your school or department may be able to help with contract/purchase processes where applicable; we’ll do our best to point you in the right direction.

Tools will generally be listed here with one of the following four statuses, though in some cases, we may provide different notes if none of these apply:

Integrated
This indicates that a tool has been successfully reviewed and integration with UCI Canvas.

Review in progress
This indicates that a tool is currently under review and we are actively working to complete that process and, if all goes well, implement the UCI Canvas integration.

Pending attention / capacity / demand
This means we plan to review a particular tool once we finish other reviews and have the capacity to begin another.

On hold: contract / funding required
This means OIT cannot move forward with a particular tool until a formal agreement and funding have been established. If there’s a tool you want that falls into this category, we generally recommend talking with your department or school to see if local funding may be feasible.

Can EEE Support provide help with third party tools?

If a third party tool integration is enabled in UCI Canvas, EEE Support staff can assist with issues or questions about the integration itself (for example, data failing to transfer between the integrated system and UCI Canvas).

Please expect that for most issues we will refer you to the third party service provider for direct assistance with any issues that are unrelated to the Canvas integration.

EEE Support staff cannot provide assistance for any unsupported third party services (including tools that have not been reviewed or that have been reviewed and rejected for integration) or for any questions or issues that are not directly related to a service’s UCI Canvas integration.

How do I request a new integration?

Simply send an email to eee-support@uci.edu if you have an integration request and an EEE Team member will follow up with you. Alternatively, you can submit and prioritize up to 5 requests at a time by completing a short survey.

We may ask you for some additional information to make sure we understand the purpose and value of the tool (which can help us prioritize integration work and support other instructors who ask about their options for accomplishing particular tasks), we’ll work with the vendor to gather the information we need, and we’ll keep you updated.

Can I expedite an integration?

If you have an existing relationship with a third party tool provider, you may be able to help expedite a new integration by asking the vendor to complete the ‘Light’ version of the Higher Education Cloud Vendor Assessment Tool (HECVAT). The HECVAT is an assessment mechanism developed through collaborative efforts so that higher education institutions can pool their efforts, gathering a standardized set of shareable information from third party tool vendors. A completed HECVAT is a big step in the vetting process and really helps to move a new integration forward!