Learn how to setup and use the Roll Call attendance feature in Canvas. 

Canvas has a built in attendance tool that allows you to easily track attendance and factor it into student's scores. 

Enable the Roll Call Attendance Tool

1. Navigate to Settings.
   
2. Click on Navigation.
3. Scroll down to Attendance.
4. Click on the three dots and select Enable. Or, click and drag Attendance up into your enabled modules. Note that your Attendance module will be invisible to students even after its enabled. 
   
5. Click Save at the bottom right.

Configuring Your Attendance Assignment

After you first take roll call, Canvas will create an assignment called Attendance worth 100 points. This is how Canvas tracks a students attendance over time. Student's points are the percentage of classes they attend. Do not delete, rename, or unpublish this assignment. You can choose to adjust the point value of the assignment to match your course, you can exclude it from students' final grade, or you can leave it as is.

By default, Canvas will push a notification to students every time you take attendance since this updates their score on the ‘Attendance’ assignment. You can follow these steps to change this. 

1. Navigate to Grades.
   
2. Click on the 3 dots by the Attendance assignment. 
3. Select Grade Posting Policy.
   
4. Change from Automatically to Manually.
   
5. Save.

How to Use the Roll Call Attendance Tool

When taking attendance, set students to one of four attendance states: present, not present, late, and unmarked (excused absence). 

By default, late students get 80% of full point value for being on time, but you can adjust this. 

1. Navigate to Attendance.
   
2. Click on the settings wheel in the top right.
3. Choose Roll Call Settings.
4. Adjust the lateness percentage.
   

Canvas will calculate students attendance as a percentage of classes they've attended and communicate this to them through their attendance Assignment score.