Canvas Support

Two Ways to Connect Canvas to DormWay

DormWay offers two methods to sync your Canvas schedule. Here's how they work and which one to choose.

Method 1: Personal Access Token (Recommended)

The Personal Access Token method gives DormWay full access to your Canvas data—courses, assignments, deadlines, and calendar events. This is the preferred method because it works at every university and requires no IT approval.

Setup takes 30 seconds:

1. Log into Canvas
2. Go to Account → Settings
3. Scroll to "Approved Integrations"
4. Click "+ New Access Token"
5. Set Purpose to "DormWay Integration"
6. Leave Expiry blank (never expires)
7. Copy the token
8. Paste into DormWay along with your Canvas URL (e.g., umich.instructure.com)

What you get:

• Complete course information
• Assignment tracking with due dates
• Grade updates
• Calendar synchronization
• Automatic updates when professors change deadlines

Limitations: Some universities disable the ability to create personal access tokens. If you can't find this option, contact your IT department or use Method 2.

Method 2: ICS Calendar Feed

The ICS method syncs your Canvas calendar events through a live feed URL. It updates automatically as your Canvas calendar changes, and works best when combined with uploading your course materials.

How it works:

1. In Canvas, navigate to your Calendar
2. Copy your calendar feed URL (looks like: https://[university].instructure.com/feeds/calendars/user_[id].ics)
3. Paste into DormWay

The feed updates automatically as Canvas changes, giving you current calendar information.

What you get:

• Calendar events from Canvas
• Automatic updates as your schedule changes
• Simple, one-time setup

What you don't get automatically:

• Assignment details beyond what's on the calendar
• Grade information
• Full course context

Making Either Method More Powerful

Both approaches work better with more data. DormWay's intelligence comes from understanding your complete academic context, not just calendar entries.

Upload to Locker for better results:

• Your schedule (PDF, ICS, or even a screenshot) - Helps DormWay understand your class structure
• Course syllabi - Provides assignment details, grading policies, and course objectives
• Handouts and readings - Builds context for assignments and exam prep
• Previous notes - Creates a knowledge base for your courses

When other students in your courses have already uploaded syllabi, you benefit automatically. When they haven't, uploading yours helps everyone in that class.

The ICS feed keeps your calendar synchronized, but uploading course materials gives DormWay the context to provide real intelligence—like understanding that the "Paper Due" event on your calendar is actually a 10-page analysis worth 25% of your grade that builds on last week's reading.

Which Should You Choose?

Use Personal Access Token if:

• Your university allows it (most do)
• You want automatic extraction of assignment metadata
• You want grade synchronization
• You prefer a fully automated approach

Use ICS Calendar Feed if:

• Your university blocks personal access tokens
• You're willing to upload course materials separately
• You want the simplest Canvas connection
• Calendar synchronization meets your immediate needs

The Personal Access Token provides more automatic data extraction, but the ICS feed combined with document uploads can be equally powerful. Both methods benefit from uploading syllabi, schedules, and course materials to Locker—that's where DormWay's academic intelligence really comes alive.