Sections and Groups in Canvas are used to arrange students for collaboration and organization. Traditionally, sections are used in Canvas when you are teaching multiple sections of the same class (think a 9am class, a 10am class, etc.) where you are teaching the same material, so having different sections in one class reduces your need for managing multiple Canvas sites.

Assignments in Canvas can be assigned to specific sections or groups with different due dates. For the M.D. Program offered by the Office of Medical Student Education, sections or groups can be used in a unique way to organize the periods for their clerkships. Clerkships do not run on a standard semester term schedule, but rather are offered every 4, 6, or 12 weeks throughout one year. Medical Students rotate through these clerkships throughout one academic year. 

Staff and faculty can utilize one assignment in Canvas, and leverage assigning the sections or groups different due dates in order to minimize posting duplicate information and declutter their assignment page. 

Instructions are provided by Canvas on how to assign different due dates to a specific section. Clerkships should ensure all their students are uploaded into the Canvas site and organized by their period into sections.