To: Faculty, Graduate Assistants, and Professional Faculty
From: Alix Gitelman, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs
Date: May 7, 2026
Dear Colleagues,
We still do not have details about how long Canvas services will be disrupted, but we continue to monitor the situation and will keep you informed as we learn more. Note the outage began at 1:40pm Pacific time today.
In the meantime, we are asking you to plan for the possibility that the outage may continue for some time. To support students and preserve instructional continuity, the following guidance applies:
- No penalties for missed submissions during the outage. Do not penalize students for assignments, quizzes, exams, or other work that cannot be submitted in Canvas during the outage. Please adapt as possible to reschedule assignments or have students submit assignments through email (use the “Emailing Students” guide to send messages to a class roster).
- Faculty flexibility is expected. Please provide reasonable flexibility with deadlines, participation expectations, and course activities affected by the outage. We expect students to continue their studies even if there are some changes or delays in submitting assignments.
- Preservation of instructional continuity. Please continue instruction to the greatest extent possible and to communicate clearly with students about temporary expectations and changes.
- Protection of privacy and security. Please do not use personal email accounts, non-secure platforms, unapproved file‑sharing methods, and non-OSU-supported solutions that could create FERPA, privacy, or information security risks.
Please consider sending an email to your students—especially if you are teaching an Ecampus course—to let them know what, if any adjustments you will make. Students have only received a brief message about the outage.
We recognize that this situation is disruptive and that it may create stress for you and your students. For more information and updates, visit the OSU IT status page.
Thank you,
Alix Gitelman, Senior Vice Provost for Academic Affairs