Faculty who use Macmillan Achieve in Canvas should be aware of an important change to the integration. Beginning Fall 2026, Macmillan Achieve is accessed through the VitalSource Partner Integration rather than the previous Macmillan integration.
This change went into effect on September 3, 2026.
Before You Begin: Remove Old Macmillan Links
If you are copying a Canvas course from a previous term, begin by reviewing your course for links created using the previous Macmillan integration.
Faculty who have already transitioned their courses have found that old Macmillan links may need to be manually deleted before setting up the new integration.
Check your:
- Modules
- Assignments
- Pages
- Course navigation
- Other areas where Macmillan content may have been linked
Do not assume links from a previous term will continue to work with the new integration.
Connect Your Canvas Course to Achieve
Once old links have been removed:
- Create or copy your course in Macmillan Achieve and select VitalSource (❗NOT Canvas) as your LMS integration.
- Configure your assignments.
- In Canvas, make sure VitalSource Course Materials is enabled in your course navigation.
- Open VitalSource Course Materials and select Launch Courseware.
- Sign in to your Macmillan Achieve account if prompted.
- Select Connect with Achieve and associate your Canvas course with the appropriate Achieve course.
For complete instructions, review the Macmillan Achieve Setup Guide in Canvas from VitalSource.
Note: The names of some links and external tools in Canvas may differ slightly from those shown in the VitalSource documentation. Look for the VitalSource course materials or external tool option when following the setup instructions.
Add Graded Achieve Assignments to Canvas
After your Canvas and Achieve courses are connected, you can add supported Achieve assignments directly to your Canvas Modules.
From a Canvas Module:
- Select the + button to add an item.
- Select External Tool.
- Locate the appropriate VitalSource tool. The exact name may vary.
- Select Open Publisher Tool.
- Select the Achieve content you want to add.
- Deploy the selected content to your Canvas course.
Faculty testing the new integration at Chemeketa have successfully added graded Achieve assignments to Canvas, with the assignments appearing correctly in Canvas and the Gradebook.
Be sure to test your links and gradebook setup before making the course available to students.
Known Issue: Practice Activities
⚠️ We have received reports that links for practice ungraded activities cannot be created in Canvas. Attempting to add these activities may result in an error.
Macmillan Support suggests the following workaround. Utilize the “Achieve Home” option (add this link to your Canvas course), and instruct students that they’ll have to locate these ungraded assignments by going to the Achieve homepage and navigating to those practice assignments.
For now, faculty should:
- Test practice activity links carefully.
- Do not assume practice links copied from a previous course will continue to work.
- Contact Macmillan Support if you encounter errors with Achieve content.
- Contact the Center for Academic Innovation if you need assistance reviewing or updating your Canvas course.
We will update this information as additional guidance becomes available.
Need Help?
If you need assistance transitioning your Macmillan Achieve course to the new VitalSource integration, please contact the Center for Academic Innovation.
We recommend completing this transition and testing your Achieve assignments before students begin accessing the course.