Set up Access Pearson or Access Pearson Codeless - Canvas

Transitioning your course from the MyLab and Mastering tool, Partner Integration, or Direct Integration (LTI 1.1) to Access Pearson (LTI 1.3)? Learn how to prepare.

To set up Access Pearson or Access Pearson Codeless:

1. If applicable, add the Access Pearson link.
2. Pair your Canvas course with a MyLab or Mastering course.
3. Add assignment, course tool, or eText links.
4. Get students started.
5. Sync grades.
6. If applicable, enable Access Pearson Codeless.

Not sure which integration was set up for you? This topic covers Access Pearson, Pearson Seamless, and Access Pearson Codeless for Barnes & Noble, Follett-Willo, RedShelf, and VitalSource. The name and location of the link to access these integrations depend on your course setup. For Access Pearson, the link is usually named Access Pearson. For Access Pearson Codeless, the bookstore link is sometimes named Course Materials and may include your bookstore name. Check the Launch Type in Diagnostics or ask your LMS administrator if you're unsure.

Step 1: Add the Access Pearson link

If Access Pearson has been installed by your institution and you don't see the link, add it to your Canvas course following the instructions below. If Access Pearson is unavailable and you aren't using a bookstore, contact your Canvas administrator. Provide the administration guide for Pearson integrations.

Using a billing program like Inclusive Access via a bookstore without Access Pearson? Go to Step 6: Enable Access Pearson Codeless.

1. If your course will belong to a course group (copied from a template or a coordinator course), set up the template before creating student-use copies.
2. Open your Canvas course.
3. If you're transitioning a MyLab and Mastering, Partner Integration, or Direct Integration (LTI 1.1) course to Access Pearson (LTI 1.3), you'll need to prepare your course. See Transition your course for instructions.
4. Select Settings in the left navigation. Then select the Navigation tab.

   

5. Under Drag items here to hide them from students at the bottom of the page, select Enable from for Access Pearson.

   

6. Move Access Pearson where you want in the list and then select Save.

   

7. Select the Access Pearson link in the left navigation.

   

8. Agree to any authorization requests.

Next, link accounts and pair your courses.

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Step 2: Link accounts and pair courses

To open MyLab and Mastering from your LMS course, link your accounts once. Then pair your courses and set up assignments in your MyLab or Mastering course.

Watch how to link accounts and pair courses (5:10)

Link your accounts

If you're a section instructor or teaching assistant, see Register as a section instructor or TA.

1. Select the MyLab and Mastering or Access Pearson link. (Add the link if you don't see it.)
2. Select Open Pearson.

   

   How to re-open your content

   If the Pearson Home page isn't already open in another tab, return to your LMS course navigation and select the MyLab and Mastering or Access Pearson link again.

3. If you're asked to choose your product, select MyLab | Mastering. (For Revel, eText, or Live Response, go to Revel and Pearson eText for your LMS Help.) Your selection is permanent and can't be undone.

   

4. Agree to any authorization requests and accept cookies.
5. If prompted, select Get Started to link your accounts.

   

   IMPORTANT: Authorization for link migration from LTI 1.1 to 1.3

   If prompted, select Authorize to automatically migrate your Pearson assignment links from LTI 1.1 to LTI 1.3. Without authorizing LTI 1.1, your links won't migrate and you'll get a Socket_RP_84 error message.

   Sample Canvas message:

   

   Sample D2L Brightspace message:

   

   Don't see the Pearson Home page?

   For Pearson Seamless, go to step 6 to link accounts.

6. Enter the username and password from your existing Pearson instructor account and select Link accounts. If you don't have an account, select Create an account and follow the prompts. You can only link one LMS account to one Pearson account.

   

7. Select Continue.

   

8. If prompted, select Get Started on the Pearson Home page to pair your courses.

   

   Not yet a validated instructor?

   Select Get Started and follow the prompts to enter details about your role. Wait for a confirmation email.

   

   Tips

   Blank white page

   If you see a blank white page, you might need to temporarily disable the AdBlock and similar browser extensions. See your browser Help for instructions.

   Account upgrade

   If you have a valid Pearson account and get the message, "Account Upgrade Needed," contact Pearson Support. Your account is active but needs a subscription to the MyLab and Mastering course.

   Educator account needed

   If you get the message, "To create courses you need a MyLab and Mastering educator account," contact Pearson Support for assistance.

   

Next, pair your courses.

Pair your courses

Start from your LMS course to pair it with a new, copied, or existing MyLab or Mastering course.

1. To create or copy a MyLab or Mastering course, choose an option. Depending on your setup, you'll see different options.
   Search for new course materials

   1. If available, search the catalog for new course materials. Select a discipline and enter a title, author, ISBN, or keyword. Depending on your course setup, the options will look different.

      Select the Create a new course from the catalog option. Enter your criteria and select Search.

      

      or

      Under Choose from catalog, enter your search criteria. Enter your criteria and select Search.

      

   2. Select the course materials you want.

      

   Using an ad blocker?

   Your browser may have an ad blocking extension, such as AdBlock Plus or uBlock Origin. Temporarily disable the extension for this site. See your browser Help for instructions. Then open Pearson and resume pairing your courses.

   Copy a previous course

   1. Copy a previous course you’ve taught with. Select from a list of courses you used in the past. (Learn what's included in the copy.) Depending on your course setup, the options will look different.

      Choose Select an existing course to copy.

      

      or

      Choose Select from my existing course list.

      

   2. Select the course materials you want.

      

      or

      

   See a banner saying, "Your course is a copy?"

   You might be offered the option to copy a paired course. Select Yes, copy this course to copy the course and its assignment or course tool links.

   If you select Yes, copy this course, you can't rename the MyLab or Mastering course or change due dates for assignments from the Enter Course Details page that appears later (see steps 4 and 5 below). Instead, after you finish pairing your courses, go to https://mlm.pearson.com/ to edit the course name and dates. See My Courses Help for instructions. If you select No, create another course, use the same course ID as the original to copy the assignment or course tool links and avoid duplicate grades.

   Mastering platform update: If you're transitioning to Access Pearson and copying a new edition with the Mastering platform update, select No, create another course. To ensure assignment and course tool links automatically migrate to LTI 1.3, go to Diagnostics for your previous course and copy the course ID. When you pair your new course, enter the course ID under Copy an existing course.

   

   Copy a course using a course ID

   1. Enter a course ID to copy another instructor's course. For a member section in a course group, enter the course ID of the MyLab coordinator course. Depending on your course setup, the options will look different.

      

      or

      

   2. Then select the course materials you want.

      

      or

      

   Need to find the course ID? Sign in to mlm.pearson.com. Locate your existing course and note the course ID, which is your last name plus 5 digits. Ensure the course has been set to allow copies.

   If available, pair an existing course created from a Pearson product outside the LMS

   1. Enter a course ID to copy another instructor's course or select an existing course you used in the past. For a member section in a course group, enter the course ID of the MyLab coordinator course.

      

   2. Select your course materials.

      

   Select suggested course materials (Pearson Seamless)

   Select the course materials provided to you such as from the bookstore. Depending on your course setup, the create a course options will look different.

   

   or

   

   Don't see the option to search the catalog for a new course or using Pearson Seamless?

   For Access Pearson Codeless or Pearson Seamless, select the suggested course or enter a course ID to copy an existing course. You can't pair a new course or a course you created outside the LMS such as from the MyLab and Mastering website. However, you can make a copy.

2. Complete the course details.
   Course type

   Choose any available course type.

   • Student-use: To enable students to enroll in the course, select Student-use Course.
   • Instructor-use: If you don't intend students to enroll in the course, select Instructor-use Course. For managing multiple sections for a MyLab course, consider using a MyLab coordinator course in a course group. For MyLab IT courses paired with your LMS, you must copy an existing coordinator course.

   

   Course name and description

   Enter the course name and description. Use something specific for the name like your term and class section. This helps you quickly identify the course later.

   

   Course dates

   Select the course start and end dates. Course Dates default to those selected when the course was originally created.

   

   • Course2 error: Students who try to register before the start date get a course2 error.
   • Course end dates: Students can no longer open the Pearson course on the course end date (Eastern Time, US). Set a date after the last re-take opportunity for the final exam.
   Allow other instructors to copy this course

   Select whether to allow other instructors to copy your course using your course ID. You can change this setting later.

   

   

3. Select Pair course or Create course. You'll see a confirmation message.

   

4. Wait for an email confirming your course has been created. This might take up to 3 hours.
5. Close the browser tab, and return to your LMS course

Next, set up assignments.

Set up assignments

You need to create assignments and add due dates before you can add assignment links and set up grade sync.

1. From your LMS course, select the MyLab and Mastering or Access Pearson link. Don't see the link?
2. Select Open MyLab & Mastering.

   

3. Make sure assignments are set up in your MyLab or Mastering course. Assign due dates in your Mastering course. Manage due dates only from your MyLab or Mastering course, not your LMS course.

   To successfully sync grades and open assignments, make sure assignment names are fewer than 128 characters. Avoid UTF-8 or these characters \ / " * < > + = | , % ! &

   Using the Mastering platform update? Learn about differences in how assignments are handled.

4. Return to your LMS course.

Next, add assignment or tool links or get students started.

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Step 3: Add assignment, course tool, or eText links

Optionally, you can add links that students use to open MyLab or Mastering assignments, course tools, such as Grades, or eText (also called eTextbook) from your Canvas course. You can do this automatically or manually. Learn how assignment, course tool, or eText links function.

Prerequisites: First pair your MyLab or Mastering and Canvas courses and set up assignments in your MyLab or Mastering course.

Watch how to add assignment links

Automatically create all assignment links

If available, automatically create links for all your assignments by syncing grades and then adding the links to your modules. Want to add specific assignment, course tool, or eText links?

1. Sync grades to make links available. Make sure you select the assignments you want to add as links.

   After you sync grades, links appear by default in the Canvas Assignments content area. You might need to wait a short while.

2. Add the links to a Canvas assignment in a module such as MyLab and Mastering Assignments. (See Canvas Help for how to add content to modules.)
3. Open MyLab and Mastering assignments from within your Canvas course. You might need to refresh the page. Select a link and then Open Pearson to open the link in a new browser tab or window.

Manually add assignment, course tool, or eText links

Choose how you'd like to manually add links.

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Step 4: Get students started

Student access to MyLab and Mastering via Barnes & Noble, Follett-Willo, RedShelf, or VitalSource: Select the bookstore link to ensure Access Pearson Codeless is enabled. Make the link visible to students to allow them to manage the opt status by following your institution's process. This prevents issues with student access.

Learn how to get students started with your MyLab or Mastering course.

Student resources

Share registration instructions with your students. We suggest copying and pasting these URLs into an email to students before classes start or your syllabus. Another option is to add these URLs as links in a getting started section of your Canvas course. See Canvas Help for how to add links.

• Student Help: Get started with MyLab and Mastering for your LMS

• Video: How to register for MyLab and Mastering from an LMS

• PDF: Register for MyLab and Mastering from Canvas

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Step 5: Sync grades

Sync grades one-way from your MyLab or Mastering course to your Canvas course. First prepare your MyLab or Mastering course. Then set up grade sync from your LMS course. Learn how grade sync works.

Calendar: You need to sync grades to see assignment due dates in the Canvas calendar.

Watch how to sync grades (1:01)

1. Access the Pearson Home page and select Open Pearson.
2. Select Open MyLab & Mastering.
3. In your MyLab and Mastering course, turn on any grade settings and create assignments that meet the guidelines below. If needed, set availability/due dates and choose grade sync settings.

   Guidelines: To avoid problems opening MyLab and Mastering courses and syncing grades, make sure names, including course and assignment names, and settings don't have UTF-8 and these special characters: \ / " * < > + = | , % ! &

   Depending on your MyLab and Mastering platform, there are different ways to prepare for grade sync.

   Mastering

   See Mastering Help for grade sync considerations.

   Using the Mastering platform update? Learn about differences in how assignments and grade settings are handled.

   MyLab

   See MyLab Help for how to set up grade sync from your MyLab course and choose how to sync scores.

Next, return to your LMS course to set up grade sync.

Step 6: Enable Access Pearson Codeless

Your institution may offer students the option to opt in to add the cost of MyLab or Mastering course materials to their tuition or fees. This is available from your bookstore through Access Pearson Codeless as part of your Inclusive Access or institutional-bill program. Bookstores include Barnes & Noble, Follett-Willo, RedShelf, or VitalSource. When students opt out, they can buy access through Pearson using a credit card or, if available, PayPal or Apple Pay.

Your LMS administrator usually works with the bookstore to integrate Access Pearson Codeless with your LMS course. To enable Access Pearson Codeless, select the bookstore link and access your MyLab or Mastering course. For instructions, select your bookstore below. The name and location of the bookstore link depends on the course setup. The link is sometimes named Course Materials and may include your bookstore name.

Student access to MyLab and Mastering via Barnes & Noble, Follett-Willo, RedShelf, or VitalSource: Select the bookstore link to ensure Access Pearson Codeless is enabled. Make the link visible to students to allow them to manage the opt status by following your institution's process. This prevents issues with student access.

Not sure how to find the bookstore link or don't see the right Pearson content? Check the instructions below. If you still have trouble, contact your bookstore or LMS administrator.

Select your bookstore

Link accounts and pair courses

Depending on whether you're using Access Pearson or a bookstore alone or in combination, your next step is:

• Access Pearson and bookstore: If you linked accounts and paired courses using Access Pearson, you don't have to repeat these steps after enabling Access Pearson Codeless. You can access your MyLab or Mastering course from the Access Pearson or bookstore link.
• Bookstore only: If you're using a bookstore but not Access Pearson, you need to link accounts and finish setting up your integration after you enable Access Pearson Codeless.

  Watch how to link accounts and pair courses (5:10)

How to identify your integration: Check the Launch Type in Diagnostics if you're unsure which integration you're using. The Launch Type for Access Pearson Codeless is Channel partner integration LTI 1.3. The Launch Type for Access Pearson is Standard integration LTI 1.3.

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Updated 17 Apr 2025