Create Canvas Student Groups

Canvas Student Groups allow instructors to facilitate collaboration, streamline communication, and organize students for group activities, discussions, and assignments.

When creating student groups in Canvas, you first create a Group Set, and then create the individual groups within that set.

A Group Set is a collection of related groups within a course. It serves as the overall structure that contains multiple student groups.
Individual groups are the smaller teams within a Group Set where students collaborate on discussions, projects, or assignments.

For example, you might create a Group Set called Project 1 Teams, and within it create groups such as Team A, Team B, and Team C.

This article explains how to manually create student groups. Canvas also allows you to automatically create groups or import groups using a CSV file.

Note: For group assignments, ensure all students are assigned to groups before publishing the assignment. Adding students to groups after submissions have begun may affect grades and submissions.

Why Use Canvas Student Groups?

Enhance student engagement through structured teamwork.
Manage and track group progress more efficiently.
Enable collaboration with group-specific tools such as discussions, files, and announcements.

Create a Group Set

In Course Navigation, click People.
Click the + Group Set button.
Enter a Group Set Name.
Choose whether to allow self sign-up.
From the Group Structure drop-down menu, select Create groups later.
Click Save.

Create Individual Groups

Click the + Group button within the Group Set.
Enter a Group Name.
(Optional) Set a Group Membership Limit to restrict the number of members.
Click Save.
Repeat these steps to create additional groups in the Group Set.

Note: If self sign-up is enabled and a group limit is set for the Group Set, that limit applies to all groups created. Changing the Group Set limits later will override individual group settings.

Add Students to Groups

To assign students to groups:

Drag and drop student names into the appropriate group.

You can monitor the number of groups created using the group counter.

Manage Individual Groups

To manage a specific group, click the Options menu next to the group name.

Available options include:

Visit Group Homepage – Access the group's workspace where students can collaborate, share files, and communicate.
Edit – Rename the group.
Delete – Remove the group.

Manage a Group Set

To manage the entire Group Set, click the Options menu next to the + Group button.

Options include:

Message All Unassigned Students – Send a message to students who have not yet been assigned to a group.
Randomly Assign Students – Automatically distribute students across groups.
Edit – Modify Group Set settings.
Clone Group Set – Duplicate the Group Set.
Delete – Permanently remove the Group Set.

View Groups or the Full Class

In the People tab:

Click Everyone to view the full class roster.
Click a Group Set name to view the groups within that set.