Finals Week Disrupted as Cyberattack Knocks Out Canvas at Cal Poly Humboldt, College of the Redwoods and Thousands of Schools Nationwide

Stock photo of College of the Redwoods [Photo by Ryan Hutson]

Spring 2026 finals at Cal Poly Humboldt are scheduled for Monday, May 11 through Friday, May 15. Finals at College of the Redwoods run from May 9 through May 15.

On Thursday, College of the Redwoods announced on Facebook that Canvas, operated by Instructure, was experiencing “a systemwide outage affecting colleges across California and beyond.”

“The issue is connected to a cybersecurity incident involving Instructure, the Canvas vendor, which is actively working toward resolution,” the college wrote. “At this time, there is no indication that College systems outside of Canvas have been impacted.”

The college acknowledged the timing of the outage was especially disruptive as students prepare for final projects and exams.

“We understand this may cause frustration and disruption, particularly for coursework and assignments, and we appreciate your patience while the issue is being addressed,” the statement said.

Cal Poly Humboldt issued a similar campuswide notice Thursday morning warning that Canvas was down “across ALL CSU campuses and at the Chancellor’s Office.”

“We are aware that Canvas is down across ALL CSU campuses and at the Chancellor’s Office,” the university wrote. “Instructure is working diligently to gather more information and get systems restored.”

University officials described the situation as “fluid” and said they were working with Instructure to determine the “full scope of impact.”

The disruption follows several days of escalating warnings from Instructure and the California State University system regarding a broader cybersecurity incident tied to Canvas.

According to a May 5 update shared with CSU campuses, Instructure reported that “an unauthorized third party accessed certain Canvas data” in late April 2026. The company stated there was “no evidence that passwords, Social Security numbers, financial information, or other highly sensitive data were compromised,” though some personal information associated with user accounts may have been involved.

Earlier this week, some CSU campuses reportedly experienced temporary shutdowns lasting 20 to 30 minutes.

The cybercriminal group ShinyHunters claimed responsibility for stealing personal data through Canvas, allegedly affecting 275 million individuals and approximately 9,000 schools worldwide. The group reportedly threatened to leak data and create “several annoying (digital) problems” if a ransom was not paid by May 7.

Instructure has not publicly confirmed the full scope of those claims.

The outage has created immediate concerns for students facing imminent exams and assignment deadlines.

As of Thursday afternoon, campuses continued waiting for further updates from Instructure while students across California and beyond scrambled to determine whether exams, deadlines, or assignments would be adjusted.