Child Item

What’s Next for Canvas Portfolio: H1 Plans and Legacy Updates

Since Canvas Portfolio reached General Availability (GA), we’ve heard a lot of valuable feedback from current users and the wider Instructure community. We appreciate your enthusiasm and interest in what’s coming next, and want to highlight upcoming improvements based on this feedback.

Changes Coming in Q1

Enrollment Sync Improvements
We’re improving how enrollments stay aligned between Canvas and Evaluation Portfolios. Previously, learners added to a Canvas course after an Evaluation Portfolio was published didn’t appear in the portfolio, creating extra manual work and inconsistencies.

With this update:

New enrollments in Canvas will automatically sync to the portfolio
Late-joining learners can participate without disrupting existing content
If a learner is removed from a Canvas course, the system will automatically update the portfolio as well

Looking Ahead to Q2

Moving into Q2, we’re planning several changes to make portfolios more collaborative, easier to manage, and better integrated with Canvas:

Video Support: You’ll soon be able to attach videos to portfolios and use video directly in the Rich Content Editor (RCE). This means that Portfolios now support direct file uploads with inline display for photos, videos, and audio. We have also doubled the maximum file size limit from 25 MB to 50 MB.

Evidence Improvements: We’re making it easier to manage evidence in portfolios. Links can now be renamed for better clarity and organization, evidence types can be updated more easily, and learner reflections will include helpful guides.

Dashboard fixes: One of the biggest limitations we’re addressing with Evaluation Portfolios is the dashboard sync with Canvas assignments. Currently, assignment progress only syncs if a specific evaluation portfolio is opened, and progress can be seen for a single student. Here’s how this will be improved:

The main progress dashboard will accurately reflect the current state of assignments for individual learners and for entire groups, giving educators a clear overview of class or cohort progress without needing to open each portfolio.

Accessibility (a11y) Enhancements: We are committed to full WCAG compliance and will provide a VPAT by the end of April, ensuring our product is accessible to all users.

Assignment Sharing and Commenting: Learners will be able to share assignments publicly and receive comments from other users within the Portfolio workflow.

Portfolio Update Notifications: Users will receive notifications about portfolio updates, keeping students and educators informed about changes, feedback, or new content.

Public-Facing API: We’ll introduce a public API to enable integrations with other tools and systems, giving institutions more flexibility to connect portfolios with their broader ecosystem.

These improvements will make it easier for educators to track progress, manage portfolios, and ensure all learners have access to the right materials at the right time.

Legacy Portfolio Updates and Sunset Preparation

As part of our ongoing Portfolio improvements, we’ve also released several updates to our legacy Portfolio tools to help institutions prepare for their sunset on June 30, 2026.

On January 28, we released the following legacy support updates:

User-facing banners that communicate the sunset timeline and direct users to export guides for both legacy tools.
- Available in native Canvas ePortfolios
- Available in Portfolium / Folio / Canvas Student ePortfolios
An improved Portfolium export experience, including a learner-facing, full-profile export.
Both legacy products are now labeled “(Legacy)” in Canvas to clearly distinguish them from the new Canvas Portfolio experience.

These updates are intended to provide clarity, improve export workflows, and support a smooth transition to the new Portfolio experience.

Release notes:

Community Updates

To streamline collaboration and feedback, the Portfolio community user group will close on March 13. Moving forward, we’ll be guiding users to the Canvas LMS forum in the community to share feedback, ask questions, and collaborate with others using Canvas Portfolio. This helps keep conversations connected across Canvas products and ensures your feedback reaches the right teams.

Find more posts tagged with

Canvas LMS

Comments

jmerlenbach2

@Dalma_Schnell can you provide a few clarifications:

What does it mean that "Educators will be able to share assignments and provide comments more effectively within the portfolio workflow." Is this in evaluation portfolios?
To what WCAG standard will this be made compliant? Is there a guarantee that it will be compliant before the April 24th enforcement of the Title II regulations? What specific items are currently not compliant?
Will the public facing API leverage the same API access tokens that Canvas utilizes (will these portfolio APIs be part of the larger Canvas API) or will this be a separate API?
- Will these APIs be permissioned in a way that allows admins to pull portfolios out of Canvas on behalf of users? Which Canvas permissions will these tie to? Will it be available for Showcase Portfolios and Evaluation Portfolios, or just one?

Further, are there any updates to the following functionality misses:

Users are unable to share showcase portfolio evidence that has been pulled directly from an assignment (this is a lack of parity with the previous portfolio solutions)
Evaluation portfolios are tied to a single teacher, and cannot be reviewed or seen by anyone else (admins or other faculty)
Lack of ability for evaluation portfolios to span multiple terms
Evaluation portfolios consider any submitted assignment to be "completed" with no way for a separate evaluation to occur

Thank you.

mbmacdonald

@Dalma_Schnell - thanks for this update and reminder about the sunset date. Quick question: will the exported .zip file (from Portfolium) be able to be imported into the new Portfolio in one piece? Or would users have to unzip the file and then manually add each file?

Jeff_F

@Dalma_Schnell To share feedback, a set of instructors have requested a new feature be added where the artifact (file) upload shows a preview and then when selected can then be opened within a preview modal that does not require downloading. Basically, they disfavor the new requirement to download the files from the sidebar. Because of this change they are looking at removing the tool from their course which runs around 40 times a year.

This image depicts the relevant section. BTW - they liked how it worked with Portfolium.

ACook-RVCC

Thank you for the update. I'm pleased to learn that the tool will continue to be improved!

I am a little concerned that there will no longer be a dedicated channel for questions and comments about Portfolio, by rerouting to the much more general Canvas LMS Forum. Especially since there are still so many questions and issues with the tool. For example, I am still waiting for resolution on Case #13541753 I reported on Jan. 29, which focused on issues of portfolios randomly disappearing from people's Portfolio dashboards, only to reappear the next day, or when logging into a different computer. (And no, not a browser issue.) @Dalma_Schnell , if you are able to take a look yourself at that ticket, I would appreciate it.

Please also keep considering the idea to make it possible for students to copy their Evaluation portfolios and turn them into Showcase portfolios that they could then share out.

To @jmerlenbach2 's first point, does the "Assignment Sharing and Commenting" mean that Canvas Assignments that students add to Showcase portfolios will be visible and gradable, in the Portfolio, to teachers? Or that they are visible and gradable in both Showcase and Evaluation portfolios?

Thank you again.

Dalma_Schnell

Hi @jmerlenbach2,

Thanks for the questions, happy to clarify!

Assignment sharing and commenting: Learners will be able to share their assignments, and other users will be able to provide comments. This applies within the Portfolio workflow, not just Showcase portfolios.
Accessibility & compliance: Portfolio is currently in the remediation phase following its most recent external audit. We are working to ensure the product meets DOJ requirements by the April 2026 deadline. Additionally, we are committed to achieving WCAG 2.2 AA conformance, and this is part of our continuous improvement planning for 2026.
API: The public-facing Portfolio API will use a separate access token from Canvas and will be a separate API. It will be available for admins only, who can modify the portfolios of students or teachers. The plan is for it to support both Evaluation and Showcase portfolios.

Other updates:

Sharing assignments: On our radar for H1; the updates you referenced in “assignment sharing” are capturing this work.
Evaluation portfolios with multiple teachers: On our radar but not planned for H1.
Multiple semesters: Supported today, but courses must be created in advance since the Portfolio locks after publishing. Future improvements are planned.
Assignments being handled separately & reevaluated: Considered for H1 improvements, with discovery planned for Q1. If you’re interested, I’d be happy to discuss how you can participate.

Thanks again Josh for thinking about ways Portfolio could be improved, your feedback is super valuable as we plan future updates!

Dalma_Schnell

Hi @mbmacdonald, thanks for the question!

The exported zip file cannot be imported directly into the new Portfolio. Users would need to recreate the evidence manually within the new tool.

Dalma_Schnell

Hi @Jeff_F,

Thanks for sharing this, it’s really valuable feedback! This isn’t the first time we’ve heard this request, and it’s definitely on our radar.

We’ll aim to address it once our resources allow, but I agree having a preview mode without requiring a download would be a huge time saver for educators who want to quickly review student work.

Really appreciate you capturing this and sharing the details!

Dalma_Schnell

Hi @ACook-RVCC,

thanks so much for sharing this, and I really appreciate you raising the concern about the user group. Totally understand wanting a dedicated space for Portfolio conversations.

For issues like the one you mentioned, the best path is still through our Support team, as they’re best equipped to investigate and resolve specific cases. That said, thanks for flagging Case #13541753 here, we’ll take a look on our side as well, and Support will follow up with you directly.

Regarding Evaluation → Showcase portfolio copying, learners can already share their evaluation portfolios, so functionally that covers a similar need. Creating copies could potentially introduce duplication, but I’d love to better understand the value you’re hoping to get from that workflow, what would copying enable?

For Assignment Sharing and Commenting, the goal is that assignments included in shared portfolios will be visible when shared, and we’re also working toward enabling commenting by more than just a single educator on evaluation portfolios. More details to come as this evolves.

And if you’re interested, we’d love to involve you in upcoming discovery or preview sessions where you can try new features early and share feedback, just let me know!

Thanks again for the thoughtful questions and for advocating for your users!

ACook-RVCC

Hi Dalma,

Yes, please include me and Carrie Bazar (@cbazar) in discovery and preview sessions. Thank you. -Amy

cbazar

Hi @Dalma_Schnell I have instructors who would like the ability to add Skills to the assignments that are evidence requirements for an Evaluation Portfolio they've created. Currently, it seems there is no way to align competencies to Canvas assignments within the Portfolio workflow; there is only the ability to add skills to other evidence requirements such as projects, extracurriculars, or professional experiences? Is this feature planned for the future, so that instructors can align their course learning outcomes and institutional learning outcomes with important competencies for student success.

Thanks,
Carrie

DM00

My CSM directed me to ask this here; why isn't/wasn't the goal with the new portfolio parity?

I ask because it seems (unless it is well hidden) that students can't use the WYSIWYG editor to input HTML, which means they have a lot less input into what their portfolios actually look like. If the goal really is to create something to show employers, then I would think that function would be important.

Is there a plan to allow for HTML editing later.

EdFinn

@Dalma_Schnell,

I hope all is well and wanted to see if we can get some more clarity around how Portfolios are evolving. We are piloting this beginning in the Fall for our Communications and Visual Arts Department and need to see if several things are on the roadmap, some of them mentioned in previous comments, but here is a list of what we are thinking.

Studio Integration - We really need students to be able to bring Canvas Studio presentations directly into the Portfolio in a visually appealing way
Google Drive Integration - Due to the size limit on the Portfolio (especially with visual arts), we need to be able to integrate drive in a meaningful way. It would be even better to have a solution that allows for a more web-like experience.
HTML Customization - Giving more control to users to customize the look and feel of the site.
Admin Visibility - Our CVA department is wanting to use this as an assessment tool over all four years and needs a way to see progress throughout. This makes the locking of the portfolio troublesome, as well as being able to share among instructors.
Parchment Digital Badging Integration - This is more of an early warning and "is there a way" questions since we see these two systems as complimentary.
Shareable Links - I am adding this in because we are working through creating a proof of concept and are not able to see any of the assignments pass through from a Showcase or Evaluation Portfolio. They are showing that they are blocked due to restricted access. This happens whether we are logged in or not. I would be really hesitant to have students share any links unless they were sure others can see them, and they shouldn't have to re-upload their assignments as projects.

Thank you for all you all are doing with this.

Sincerely,

Dalma_Schnell

Hi @ACook-RVCC, amazing! Could you and Carrie press the 'Up-vote' icon on this testing opportunity if you have the bandwidth for a low-commitment test starting on March 23rd? All the details are in the description. I'd really appreciate your support in building these improvements together!

Dalma_Schnell

We are excited to announce a significant improvement to how enrollment syncing works within the New Canvas Portfolio. This update is already live in both Beta and Production environments.

Previously, only learners who were enrolled in a Canvas course at the time an Evaluation Portfolio was published would receive their assigned portfolio. We’ve now removed that hurdle to ensure a more inclusive and automated experience.

With this update to the Canvas Portfolio:

If an Evaluation Portfolio exists and is tied to specific courses, any learner who joins those courses after the portfolio has been published will now automatically receive their assigned Evaluation Portfolio.
To keep your data clean, if a learner is removed from a Canvas course:
- Their portfolio will be automatically removed if they have no activity.
- Their work will be preserved if they have already submitted any content.

Child Item