Differences between Groups and Sections

Although Groups and Sections are often confused, it is important to know they operate differently and cannot be used interchangeably.

Sections are created automatically based on student timetables but can be created manually if necessary. A subject will usually have a main subject section which includes enrolled students, and one section per tutorial/studio. For technical subjects with workshops and tutorials, sections can be created for both the workshops and tutorials. Sections do not affect a student’s experience in Canvas; they are merely administrative tools that tutors/subject coordinators can use to filter students or to assign different assignments to different students (e.g. if each tutorial has different assessment tasks).

Groups, on the other hand, operate like smaller versions or subsets of a subject. Groups can independently engage with content, announcements, discussion boards and assessment tasks that are not accessible to students outside those within that group. Groups are particularly useful for studio subjects, where each individual studio operates as a semi-independent subject within the larger subject. Groups are not created automatically by the timetabling system. . Groups can be set up so that students are manually assigned by teaching staff, or students can be granted the ability to self-enrol into a Group. Finally, Group Sets are a feature of Groups that allow for a secondary level of Group organisation.

The following table summarises the differences between Groups and Sections.

source: The University of Sydney