Using appointment groups for office hours across multiple courses

[mehall]

Hello,

I'm working with a faculty member who teaches several courses in a given semester. He would like to use the Canvas Calendar, specifically the Scheduler feature, for his office hour appointments. We are clear on how to set up the appointments across multiple calendars, but what we haven't been able to answer is whether or not the appointments act individually across each course OR if they work in tandem.

For example, let's say he is teaching Math 101 and Math 102. He sets up 4 15-minute appointments on a given day with the first appointment beginning at 9am, and then he checks both calendars to have the appointments added to them. Then, a student in 101 signs up for an appointment at 9am. The question is:

• will the students in 102 be able to see that the 9am appointment is now taken despite it being taken by a student in 101? Do these calendars "talk" to each other to show when appointments are taken despite students being in 2 different classes?
• OR does it function with the idea that there is a 9am appointment for 101 AND a separate 9am appointment for 102, in which case the instructor would end up with 2 students showing up for the same appointment?

Any guidance is appreciated. Thank you!

[chriscas · Accepted solution]

Hi @mehall,

I have limited experience with this feature as a Canvas admin for my institution.  With what I know though, the intention in the scenario you describe is that there would be one appointment slot total at 9am.  If a student from 101 signs up for that slot, there would be no 9am availability any longer for the 102 students.

I hope this info helps!  If you do discover any contrary behavior, please let the community here know!

-Chris

[mehall]

Thanks, Chris! This was my assumption as well, but I just couldn't find confirmation anywhere.