Course materials become visible to students once the instructor publishes the course. However, students can only begin participating in the course (e.g., submitting assignments, posting to discussions) after the official start date has passed.
Faculty can check the specific availability dates by navigating to the course's Settings menu and reviewing the information listed in the Participation section. It will show the start and end dates for that particular course.
NOTE: At Dominican University, instructors can view but cannot edit these course dates. If a change is needed, please contact the Registrar’s Office to request an update.
Because Canvas course availability depends on a combination of settings (course status, term dates, section dates, etc.), the full logic is outlined in Canvas’s Instructor Guide on Course Participation Settings, which includes a detailed flowchart explaining how visibility and participation permissions are determined.