The idea
Folio implements LTI 1.3 so instructors can place a Folio assignment inside Canvas, Moodle or another LTI 1.3 platform through Deep Linking, and students can launch it from the LMS without a separate Folio sign-up. Folio also implements the LTI Advantage services for sending scores back (Assignment and Grade Services, AGS) and reading the linked course roster (Names and Role Provisioning Services, NRPS), where the LMS supplies them.
Why it matters
Most institutions aren't going to replace their LMS overnight, and they shouldn't have to in order to use Folio's integrity and research tools. Riding in through LTI lets a department adopt Folio for what it's good at (verifiable authorship, real research workflows) while the registrar's gradebook stays exactly where it is. It's the lowest-friction way onto a campus that already has a system of record.
Where we are
Core launch, Deep Linking, AGS score passback, and NRPS roster reading are built. An institution administrator registers the LMS in Security & IT → Integrations: the issuer, client ID, deployment IDs, authorization endpoint, token endpoint, and public-key (JWKS) endpoint, and each placed link is mapped to a Folio course.
What to know before a pilot:
- Existing accounts are linked by signing in. The first launch creates a Folio account for a student or instructor who doesn't have one. If the LMS email already belongs to a Folio account, the launch offers Sign in to link: the person signs in to that account and confirms, and later launches open Folio in it. Folio never links an account on the email match alone, and the link offer lasts 30 minutes. When the LMS shares no email, or the address resembles another account at the institution, the launch stops at "Account review required" and no accounts are merged.
- Grade passback and roster reading are built as services on Folio's side; Folio's own interface doesn't have a button for them yet. Passback sends only released grades that Folio can express as a score, for a submission with a live certificate.
We are validating interoperability with pilot institutions. Availability depends on the services and claims enabled in each LMS deployment. Folio does not currently publish an LTI certification or a commercial integration SLA.