Personalizing Your Canvas Profile

Table of Contents 

• Introduction 
• Solution Steps: How to Personalize Your Canvas Profile 
• Common Issues & Troubleshooting 
• Additional Resources / Related Articles 
• Contact / Escalation Information  

Introduction

This solution explains how users can personalize their Canvas Profile to manage their personal information, profile picture, and communication settings within Canvas. Updating your profile helps others in your course identify you and ensures that your account information is accurate.

This should be used when users want to update their profile photo, name display, biography, or contact information in Canvas. It is especially helpful at the beginning of a semester, when joining new courses, or when instructors want students to introduce themselves through their Canvas profiles. 

This is for students, instructors, and staff who want to customize their Canvas user profile. Personalizing your profile allows you to update your profile picture, add a short biography, manage contact methods, and adjust other profile settings. 

Before personalizing your Canvas Profile, you must: 

• Have an active Canvas account 
• Be logged into Canvas through your institution's Single Sign-On (SSO) system 
• Have permission to edit your profile information 
• Some profile fields may be managed by the institution and may not be editable. 

Solution Steps : How to Personalize Your Canvas Profile 

Step 1: Access Your Profile 

1. Log into Canvas. 
2. Click Account in the Global Navigation menu on the left side. 
3. Select Profile. 

Step 2: Edit Your Profile Information 

1. Click the Edit Profile button. 
2. Update any of the available fields, such as: 
   • Biography 
   • Pronouns (if enabled by the institution) 
   • Title 
   • Contact methods 
3. Click Save Profile when finished. 

Step 3: Add or Change a Profile Picture 

1. From your Profile page, click your profile picture icon. 
2. Select Upload a Picture. 
3. Choose an image file from your device. 
4. Adjust the crop area if necessary and click Save. 

Step 4: Manage Ways to Contact You 

1. Click Account in the Global Navigation menu. 
2. Select Settings. 
3. Add or update contact methods such as: 
   • Email addresses 
   • Mobile phone numbers 

These contact methods can be used for Canvas notifications. 

Common Issues & Troubleshooting

Unable to edit profile information

• Some profile fields may be locked or managed by the institution and cannot be modified by users. 

Profile picture will not upload

• Ensure the image file is a supported format (such as JPG or PNG) and that the file size is not too large. 

Profile changes do not appear immediately

• Try refreshing your browser or logging out and back into Canvas. 

Incorrect name displayed

• If your name is incorrect, it may be synced from the institution’s student or employee system. Contact the IT Help Desk for assistance. 

Dashboard shows old courses

• Unfavorite past courses to remove them from the dashboard view. 

Additional Resources / Related Articles

• How do I edit my Canvas user profile?  
  https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/How-do-I-edit-my-user-profile/ta-p/273 
• How do I add a profile picture in Canvas?  
  https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/How-do-I-add-a-profile-picture-in-my-user-account/ta-p/276 
• How do I add contact methods to receive Canvas notifications?  
  https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Student-Guide/How-do-I-add-contact-methods-to-receive-notifications-in-my-user/ta-p/273 

Contact / Escalation Information

If you encounter issues personalizing the Course Navigation Menu in Canvas, or if the navigation settings are not saving or behaving as expected, you may contact the Kean Canvas Learning Technologies Support Team for assistance.  

Please submit a support request through the IT Help Desk portal using the Canvas support catalog. When submitting a ticket, include the following information to help expedite troubleshooting:  

• Course Name and Course ID (Example: 2026SP*BIO*1000*01)  
• A brief description of the issue  
• Screenshots of the issue (if available)  
• The specific tool or link in question that you are trying to access 

If the issue involves permissions, locked navigation items, or course template restrictions, the request may need to be reviewed by the Learning Technologies Management Team.  

For urgent issues affecting active courses, you may also contact the IT Help Desk directly:  

• Help Desk Website: helpdesk.kean.edu/support/home  
• Phone: 908-737-6000  
• 24/7 Canvas Support can be found by clicking on Help in the Global Navigation section and clicking Chat with Canvas Support (Faculty). They can also be reached via Hotline at 855-781-8511. 

The support team will review the request and assist with troubleshooting, permissions, or configuration changes as needed.