Canva at UTRGV
UTRGV's University Marketing and Communications (UMC) has partnered with Canva to provide a brand-supported Canva environment for faculty and staff that supports consistent university communications.
Through the UTRGV Official Brand Canva environment, Staff and Faculty will have access to university-approved brand templates, brand toolkits, and brand assets while providing guardrails and a streamlined way to request approvals from our trusted UMC team right from the design.
Continue reading below to learn more about the roll-out phases and teams.
To best serve all stakeholders and their unique needs, Canva will be released in a phased approach by individual “teams” as seen in the sections below. Note that the UTRGV Official Student team will be the dedicated space for actively enrolled students to use Canva for their school coursework or non-UTRGV branded student activities.
How Canva Teams Work
At the highest level, Canva is organized into teams, which are managed spaces where specific groups of users can access the templates, brand kits, assets, and approval workflows relevant to their role. UTRGV’s Canva environment includes separate teams for different audiences, such as faculty/staff and students, so users are placed in the space that best matches how they will use Canva. The phased rollout below explains which teams are being released first, who each team is intended for, and how access will be managed.
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Phase
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Canva Team Name
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User Type
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Purpose/Scope
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Access Steps
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1
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UTRGV Official Brand
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Faculty and Staff
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Purpose: Enable faculty and staff to create on-brand materials using templates that support marketing, communications, recruitment, enrollment, retention, and branding goals.
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Join the Official Brand Team
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2
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UTRGV Official Student
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Students
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Purpose: Enable students to use Canva for classwork or educational purposes.
* This team is not to be used for creating UTRGV-branded marketing material.
If a supervisor requests a student worker’s assistance on a design, the supervisor may opt to share a collaboration link with the student worker.
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To be announced.
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Join the UTRGV Official Brand Team
Canva Access Window
For a limited time, all active faculty and staff will have immediate access to the UTRGV Official Brand team in Canva through August 31, 2026. After this date, the access process will transition to a request-based system where new and inactive users will need to submit a Get Access Request to use Canva. Beginning September 2026, accounts with no activity for 30 days may be periodically deactivated to help manage licensing costs. Canva accounts or Canva teams created independent of this launch (including free or paid individual plans) will not be affected by this deactivation.
Follow the two steps below to join the team:
- Watch the brief Canva Community Member Walkthrough video below to learn how to use the UTRGV Official Brand team in Canva:
Important reminder: Designs representing the UTRGV brand must align with the UTRGV Brand Identity & Style Guide and institutional standards. Misuse or non-compliant designs may be subject to review or access removal.
Video: Canva Community Member Walkthrough (1.5 minutes)
- Sign in with your “@utrgv.edu” email account using the Single Sign On (SSO) using the link below:
Common Issues or Questions:
- If you are active faculty or staff and receive an error message at the sign-in screen, please submit a help desk incident using the link below to troubleshoot your access:
- Individuals who have questions about an existing Canva account with their work email (i.e., “@utrgv.edu” email address) may refer to the FAQ section (What will happen to my existing Canva account if I am using “@utrgv.edu” email) for additional information on how they may be affected.
Canva for Classroom Use
If you are an active student looking to create a design for classwork, please refer to the section Phases and Teams of this knowledge base article. An email notification will be sent to the respective groups once the environment is available.
Provide Feedback
Your feedback helps us improve the Canva rollout. Once you have created a few designs, please complete the survey below to share your experience.
Help and Support
Canva Support
Canva offers several support options both inside and outside the platform.
- To find help articles or request support for technical questions or issues, visit Canva’s Help webpage.
- If you have questions while using Canva, select the Canva Help Assistant “?” icon in the bottom-right corner of the Canva website to open a chat and get assistance (see the screenshot below).
UTRGV Support
If you need additional support specific to UTRGV processes or content, please refer to the options below and contact the appropriate team:
Is Canva training required before using UTRGV-branded templates?
No. However, all employees using Canva and UTRGV brand assets are strongly recommended to complete the Onboarding for Members course that will be assigned within Canva to understand the latest process for review and be familiar with the UTRGV Brand Identity and Style Guide.
What will happen to my existing Canva account if I am using “@utrgv.edu” email:
Individuals who created an account using their work email address (i.e., “@utrgv.edu”) before this rollout will keep access to their account. They should also have received an email notification confirming that their account has been linked to the UTRGV Official Brand team.
The next time you visit Canva, you may be taken to the UTRGV Official Brand team by default instead of your existing work account. To switch accounts, follow the steps in the Canva Help article below.
For questions about your existing account, contact Canva support using the link below to review your available options. Canva support will escalate questions to the appropriate UTRGV Canva administrators as needed.
Yes. You can import your previous Canva designs into the UTRGV Official Brand team using the Canva Article below.
Important Note: Please keep the following in mind when importing custom designs into the UTRGV Official Brand team:
- Custom imported designs must be reviewed and approved by UMC Brand Review using the “Request approval” button on the Canva design. The design must be approved before the sharing and publishing options are enabled.
- Imported custom designs may take longer to review than standard UMC templates.
- If an imported file does not meet brand standards, you will need to update and resubmit it before it can be approved for use.
I have an existing “@utrgv.edu” Canva account, but I am using it for personal designs and want to get removed from UTRGV’s managed environment. What do I do?
If you still have access to the account and it does not contain UTRGV brand assets, you may create a separate personal account (i.e., a non-utrgv.edu address) and copy your personal designs to the new personal account. Reference Canva’s article below:
For general questions about using UTRGV email accounts, please refer to UTRGV’s Acceptable Use Policy Agreement below:
For any other questions, please contact canva_support@utrgv.edu.
I am currently paying for a Canva plan through my department. Should I cancel my existing plan?
If you currently have an individual Canva subscription, you can cancel that plan and are encouraged to use the official UTRGV Canva Teams environment instead. Using the UTRGV‑managed Canva Teams ensures access to approved brand assets, templates, and workflows, and helps maintain consistent, on-brand materials across the institution.
If you choose to cancel your personal or paid Canva subscription, cancellation must be completed directly with Canva. UTRGV administrators do not have the ability to cancel, refund, or modify individual paid subscriptions on a user’s behalf. Canva manages subscription changes, billing status, and any applicable adjustments through their own support channels.
When cancelling a plan, users should be aware that:
- Cancellation and billing questions are handled exclusively by Canva.
- Removing or switching to UTRGV Canva Teams does not automatically cancel an existing personal subscription.
- Any questions about billing cycles, refunds, or prorating should be directed to Canva at the time of cancellation.
For assistance with cancelling a subscription, contact Canva Support through their official help center and follow their guided cancellation process.
Important Reminder:
If you keep your independent Canva plan and are designing using the UTRGV brand, please continue following UTRGV’s Brand Guidelines and submit UTRGV-branded designs for review to umcreview@utrgv.edu.
Why does my existing Canva team still exist alongside the UTRGV team?
Because you created an account with an “@utrgv.edu” email address, Canva will allow both accounts to exist and allow you to switch between both accounts depending on your needs. For example, if you plan to design something that does not contain the UTRGV brand or require UMC Review, you may switch out of the UTRGV Official Brand team to create the design.
Where can I learn more about designing in Canva?
Other resources that are available to you include: