If you are teaching multiple identical sections of the same course in the same term, you can follow these specific directions to minimize the amount of prep work needed for the repeated sections. This is designed as a streamlined checklist. Please click on the links for more directions if you are unfamiliar with a step or make an appointment with eLearning.

Prep Your First Section

Please follow the instructions in the Online Course Readiness Checklist and the Prep Your Canvas Course Fast! workshop to copy content into your first section and get it cleaned up so it is ready to copy. Remember, the syllabus usually changes each term so please do not copy the syllabus from a previous term into this term.

Use the Online Course Readiness Checklist to make sure your first section is ready.
Make sure you have deleted any Pages, Assignments, and Files that are not needed for this term.
Make sure you have fixed any broken links from the Validate Links in Content process.
Write down the "unique identifier" for your first section. This is the number in the web address (URL) when you're on any page in that section. It is unique to every Canvas course section.

Delete the Template Content in the Next Section

1. Open the live Canvas shell for the next section of the same course. This course should be blank except for the template content.
2. Go to Pages. Select the View All Pages button at the top left. Click on the check box in front of each page, except the Course Home Page, and then select the Trash Can icon in the top right corner. Select Delete to confirm the deletion.
3. Go to Assignments. Click on the 3 dots to the right of the "Start Here - Academic Integrity Quiz (2025)" assignment and select Delete from the drop-down menu. Select OK to confirm the deletion.
4. Go to Modules. Click on the 3 dots in the gray module title and select Delete from the drop-down menu. Select OK to confirm the deletion. Repeat this step for all of the modules.
5. Go to Files. On the far right side of the screen, click on the 3 dots for the "Template Media" folder and select Delete from the drop-down menu. (The 3 dots do not appear until your cursor is on the "Template Media" folder row.) Select OK to confirm the deletion.
6. Go to Discussions. Click on the 3 dots to the right of each of the discussion templates and select Delete from the drop-down menu. Select Delete to confirm the deletion.

Import Content to the Next Section

1. On the Home Page, select Import Existing Content.
2. From the Content Type drop-down menu, select Copy a Canvas Course
3. In the Search for a course field, type in the unique identifier for your first section to make sure you're copying from the correct course. Click on the course name.
4. Select All content. (We ONLY recommend selecting All content for courses that are identical sections in the SAME term. For all other course copying we recommend choosing Select specific content.)
5. You can select Adjust events and due dates if the start date for this section is different than the first section. Make sure the "Ending date" "change to" box is blank.
6. Select Import.

Clean Up the Copy

Set the Home Page

1. Go to Pages. Select the View All Pages button at the top left.
2. Scroll down until you see "Course Home Page". You will see at least 2 pages with the same name. The current page that is being used as the home page has the "Front Page" jelly bean below the title.
3. Select the page that you want to be the course home page. (It may not be named "Course Home Page" if you used a different file in the previous section. You can check your first section for the title of the page with the "Front Page" jelly bean if you're not sure.
4. While you are viewing the page that should be the home page, click on the 3 dots in the upper right corner. Select Use as Front Page.
5. Confirm that the "Academic Integrity Quiz" link in the Start Here section works correctly.
6. Update the page with any changes for this section, such as a textbook/3rd party access code.

3rd Party Tool or Textbook

1. Follow the directions from the Bookstore or the publisher to link this Canvas section to the correct section in the 3rd party tool/textbook.
2. Follow their directions to import or link assignments. Move to the correct module, if necessary.
3. Update access codes or links wherever necessary.

In the Modules

1. Double-check that any module prerequisites and requirements are listed correctly.
2. If using the Lock Until feature, confirm that the dates are correct

In the Assignments

1. Check the Due Date and Available Until of the Academic Integrity Quiz to the correct census date for this section.
2. Select the 3 dots of the empty Census assignment group and select Delete from the drop-down menu. Select OK to confirm the deletion.
3. If desired, move the Academic Integrity Quiz to a different assignment group and delete the Census group.
4. Click on the kabob menu (3 dots) and select Edit Assignment Dates. Confirm that the dates are correct and select Save.

On the Syllabus

1. Update the Course Information section if you included an access code in the Textbook information.
2. Update the Class Information section, paying particular attention to the dates.
3. Update the Course Schedule if assignment due dates changed.

Validate Links in Content

Even though you fixed all the links in the first section, run the Validate Links in Content tool with this section to identify any files or pages that may not have copied correctly to this section.

Confirm Published Status

On the Home page, check the upper right corner and make sure that the Course Status is "Published." If it is not, click on it and choose Published from the drop-down menu.

On the Modules page, check that the introductory and first week's modules are published, as well as the content in those modules. There should be a green check in the gray module title bar and next to each item in the module.

A white check in a green circle shows that the module or content is published. A gray "do not enter" icon shows that the module or content is unpublished.

Repeat

Repeat the steps in Delete the Template Content in the Next Section, Importing Content to the Next Section, and Clean Up the Copy for as many identical sections as you teach of the same course.

Special Situation - Synchronous Online Classes

Set up Microsoft Teams classes for each course that has synchronous online classes. Click on Microsoft Teams classes from the white navigation menu and follow the prompts.

You can use the Schedule a meeting feature (in the drop-down menu for the video camera icon) to add the meeting to your Outlook calendar and get the Microsoft Teams link. It will automatically invite all the students in the class to the meeting. You can schedule a meeting for each class or keep reusing the same Teams link for each class. Best practice is to provide the Teams link in multiple places in your Canvas class, including on the home page, on the modules page, and as an announcement.

Screenshot of the upper right corner of the Teams app. There is a red box around the down arrow next to the video camera icon. The drop-down menu is visible and there is a red box around "Schedule a meeting".