Taking Attendance using the Card Access Readers

Student attendance is automatically tracked via student check-ins with the Card Access Readers within the Attendance tool upon adding and activating the Attendance tool in your Canvas course site.

If you are an instructor in one of the Teaching Theaters, automated attendance tracking will be enabled by default based on you being an instructor in one of the teaching theaters. 

Teaching Theaters

  • Alkek 250
  • Centennial Hall 157
  • LBJ Student Center 4-16.1
  • UAC 105

How Does It Work?

  1. Click a Course, click Settings, and click Navigation.
  2. Locate Attendance, click the three vertical dots to display more options, and click Enable.
  3. Click Save. The Attendance tool will appear on the course side menu.
  4. Click Attendance to load your roster.

A meeting will automatically be created when the first student checks in by scanning their ID's against a card reader.

Check-ins will only be sent for students that are officially registered for your course.

Manage Settings

When a check-in meeting is active, students will have a set number of minutes to be counted as Present, Late or Absent.

  • Present - Student is marked Present when they check in between 15 minutes before and after the meeting start time.
  • Late - Student is marked Late when they check in between 15 and 30 minutes after the meeting start time.
  • Absent - Student is marked Absent when they check in after 30 minutes of the meeting start time or if they don't check in.

Change Check-in Attendance Setting

  1. Select Settings to enter the settings page.
  2. Change Mark as Late to the preferred number of minutes to be marked late.
  3. Change Mark as Absent to the preferred number of minutes to be marked absent.
  4. Select Save Settings to save changes.
Modifying the check-in settings will affect all meetings for your site.