CONTRACTED · CENGAGE · CONNECTED ONE SECTION AT A TIME

WebAssign — one section, one link, and a start date you can’t move

WebAssign is Cengage’s homework platform for math and science. At RJ it is connected to Canvas course by course: 31 WebAssign links across seven Science teachers this semester, each one tied to a single WebAssign section. That setup works. It also explains most of what goes wrong.

Idea starters, not finished practice. None of this is an expectation. How to teach with WebAssign is a Science department question. I support the connection to Canvas.

Start with what you are trying to do

Understand how it’s connected

Each WebAssign section is its own link in your Canvas course. That’s why there are so many.

TAKES two minutes

GETS YOU a map of your own course

Start a new term cleanly

Set the WebAssign start date carefully. Once students open the course, it’s locked.

TAKES ten minutes, once a term

GETS YOU no access surprises

Fix what broke

Scores not syncing, a student who can’t open an assignment, a roster that didn’t update.

TAKES one minute

GETS YOU the likely cause

Ask someone who uses it

Sandy Robertson and Dustin Dvorak have WebAssign scores flowing into Canvas on their own.

TAKES one Teams message

GETS YOU a real example

01 How WebAssign is connected at RJ

WebAssign is on RJ’s approved list as a contracted provider under Cengage. It is not installed in Canvas for the whole school. Instead, each teacher adds a WebAssign link to their own course, usually one link per WebAssign section, named after the section (for example, “WebAssign – Red BD”).

Cengage’s own rule explains why: a WebAssign course created from Canvas is single-section. If you teach several sections, each Canvas section is paired with its own WebAssign section. Keep the names consistent so you can tell them apart in Settings → Apps. Cengage on creating or linking a course →

Two ways WebAssign can live in Canvas. In your course: you add the link yourself, which is how every RJ course does it today. School-wide: Cengage now connects new schools through one Canvas install that handles every section. That is an administrator change, and Cengage warns that switching briefly stops grade sync until each student clicks a WebAssign link again. If Science wants to make that move, message Jason Beyer and plan it for a term break.

02 Start a new term cleanly

STEP 1

Check the link is in the new course

Open Settings → Apps in the new Canvas course and confirm a WebAssign link exists for each section you teach. A copied course is worth checking, not assuming.

STEP 2

Set the start date on purpose

In WebAssign, the course start date also starts students’ temporary access, and it cannot be changed once students open the course. Cengage suggests an end date about a week after class ends. Cengage on course dates →

STEP 3

Tell students how to get in

Students open WebAssign from the Canvas link, create their Cengage account with their RJ email, and then enter their access. Follow the Science department’s instructions for access codes.

Adding assignments: choose them through the WebAssign link, not by pasting a URL, and don’t import the same activity twice. WebAssign due dates overwrite the Canvas dates. Cengage on linking an existing course →

03 Where it breaks

“Scores aren’t showing in Canvas.” Hidden and practice assignments never sync. For everything else, Cengage says a sync normally takes a few minutes, and you can push scores manually from WebAssign. A manual sync can overwrite changes you made in the Canvas gradebook, so make your edits in WebAssign. Cengage on grade sync →

“A student can’t open the assignment from Canvas.” Check that the student is in the WebAssign section that matches their Canvas section. A student who moved sections in Canvas is the usual case.

“A dropped or added student didn’t update.” Cengage lists roster changes, timers that start too early, and rounding differences in its Canvas troubleshooting guide. Cengage’s Canvas troubleshooting →

Where to send a problem. If WebAssign works on its own site but not from Canvas, that is the connection, and it is mine. Content, access codes and scoring questions go to Cengage support or the Science department. Who to ask →

04 Grow down the pathway

Same tool, four altitudes. Nobody is expected to be anywhere on this.

LEVEL I

Foundations — every section lands in the right place

Each Canvas section has its WebAssign link, students open it from Canvas, and scores reach the gradebook without retyping.

LEVEL II

Enhance — practice with feedback between classes

Short WebAssign sets after each lesson, with the hint and practice-another-version options on, so students get feedback that night instead of a week later.

LEVEL III

Deepen — the item report plans the next class

Before class, check which question most students missed or needed several attempts on. Open with that problem. The homework did the first pass.

LEVEL IV

Innovate — students explain the method

Students pick a WebAssign problem they got wrong first, then record or write how they fixed it. The correction becomes the evidence of learning.

Deepen is where WebAssign pays for itself. The score says who finished. The per-question report says what to teach tomorrow.

05 Ask a colleague

The fastest help is a colleague who already does this. Seven Science teachers have WebAssign in their Canvas courses this semester, and two of them use its most advanced setup. Based on a Canvas scan on 29 September 2026.

Ask	Where	Why they’re the one to ask	Reach them
THE ADVANCED SETUP · WEBASSIGN ASSIGNMENTS THAT SCORE THEMSELVES Each WebAssign assignment is added through the WebAssign link as its own Canvas assignment, so scores land in the Canvas gradebook with no typing. Ask these two how they set it up.
Sandy Robertson	AP Chemistry	16 WebAssign assignments set up as Canvas assignments. The 7 already due were scored in Canvas automatically.	TEAMS SANDY ROBERTSON
Dustin Dvorak	AP Physics 1	9 WebAssign assignments set up as Canvas assignments. The 8 already due were scored in Canvas automatically.	TEAMS DUSTIN DVORAK
ALSO USING IT THIS SEMESTER WebAssign linked in their Canvas courses.
Trevor Jackson	AP and Honors Chemistry	Has used WebAssign in his Canvas courses every year since 2015.	TEAMS TREVOR JACKSON
Liz Smith	AP Physics 1 and Honors Physics	Uses WebAssign in both of her courses this semester.	TEAMS LIZ SMITH
Billy Willson	AP Physics 1 and AP Physics C	Uses WebAssign in both of his AP Physics courses.	TEAMS BILLY WILLSON
Kathleen Willson	Honors Chemistry	WebAssign linked for each of her Honors Chemistry sections.	TEAMS KATHLEEN WILLSON
Bryan Overly	Honors Chemistry	Links WebAssign work from his Canvas assignments.	TEAMS BRYAN OVERLY

Use WebAssign well? Message Jason Beyer and you’ll be listed here.

06 Their resources, and ours

From Cengage

WebAssign and Canvas: create or link a course →
Grade sync →
Canvas troubleshooting →
Cengage privacy →

From here

STEM tools →
Cross-listing sections →
Tool Reference →
Data Privacy Agreement & Approved Student Services (MyRJ) →
Student privacy at a private school →
Who to ask →

One WebAssign section per Canvas section, and set the start date before students open it.

Jason Beyer · Educational Technology · Regis Jesuit High School · A.M.D.G.

HelpDesk@regisjesuit.com · 303.269.8080 · LAST VERIFIED — 16 SEP 2026