Canvas Time Zone Reminder

SMU classes must be held at the same schedule time as listed in my.SMU. All class start times and end times will continue to be on Central Standard Time (CST).

  • Students who live in time zones other than SMU’s Central Standard Time (CST) should adjust time-zone settings within Canvas.
  • Students who are in Canvas courses where faculty use the Zoom integration in Canvas should adjust time-zone settings within Canvas’ Zoom integration.

For more Canvas Time Zone information, please review the frequently asked questions below.


Times in my.SMU and Canvas are reflected in Central Standard Time (CST).


In Canvas, . Canvas dates are localized to display to you in your local time zone. For instance, an instructor in the Central (CT) time zone instructor sets a due date for 11:59 p.m. A student in the course in the Pacific (PT) time zone, who set their own time zone preferences, will see the assignment as due at 9:59 p.m.


There are a few potential problems with time zones in a course:

  1. A student in a different time zone has to turn in the assignment at a different time for them to avoid the assignment being late.
  2. An assignment or activity uses the availability features of Canvas, so a student could be locked out of an activity at an earlier time in their time zone.
  3. The Zoom integration in Canvas defaults to Pacific Time, and users must manually adjust this setting.

All due dates should be set to 11:59 p.m. (CST). The due dates are just a guide for students to ensure that their work is turned in on time. As long as an availability date isn’t set, an assignment can be turned in late. If an assignment is turned in after the due date in Canvas, it will make a note in SpeedGrader that it was late.

Instructors can use discretion to determine whether late work is accepted and/or penalized.



We suggest that you do not change the due dates for assignments after students have been enrolled, as it becomes confusing for all parties.

If you are scheduling Zoom sessions through Canvas, your students will need to manually click Zoom (in the Canvas interface) and edit their settings to the correct time zone

If you have questions or concerns, please feel free to contact the Academic Technology Service Director for your school or the IT Help Desk at help@smu.edu or 214-768-HELP (4357).