These directions help guide you on how to copy a course from a previous term. Remember, the syllabus usually changes each term so please do not copy the syllabus from a previous term into this term. Also, each term has updates to the home page and template modules. These directions will make sure you don't accidentally overwrite the template changes.

If you are teaching multiple sections of the same course in the same term, you can follow the directions on this resource to minimize the amount of prep work needed for the repeated sections.

Please click on the links for more directions if you are unfamiliar with a step or make an appointment with eLearning.

In the Course You Are Copying FROM

Record the Unique Identifier

Write down the "unique identifier" for the section you are going to copy from. 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.
Screenshot of the web address of a Canvas course with a red box around the numbers

Give the Home Page a Unique Name

Go to Pages. Select the View All Pages button at the top left.
Scroll down until you see "Course Home Page". You will likely see multiple 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.
Click on the 3 dots for that page and select Edit. Append some text to the end of the file name to make it clear which is the correct version of "Course Home Page".
Click on Save.

Screen shot of the View all pages list showing a page titled "Course Home Page for Psy 150." There is an oval below it with the words "Front Page" inside the oval.

Give Your Meet the Instructor Page a Unique Name

In the modules, click on your completed Meet the Instructor page.
Select the Edit button in the upper right corner.
At the top of the screen add your name after "Meet Your Instructor" in the Page Title box.
Scroll down and click on Save.

Import Content to the Section in the Current Term

Open the live Canvas shell for the next section of the same course.
On the Home Page, select Import Existing Content.
From the Content Type drop-down menu, select Copy a Canvas Course
In the Search for a course field, type in the unique identifier for the section you are copying FROM (the previous term) to make sure you're copying from the correct course. Click on the course name.
Select Select specific 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.)
Select Adjust events and due dates. Set the "Starting date" "change to" box to the official first day of the term listed in Self-Service. Make sure the "Ending date" "change to" box is blank.
Select Import.
Click on Select Content and select the boxes to import these sections:
- Modules - Check the box for all modules, but then click the arrow and uncheck the boxes next to the CENSUS ACTIVITY and Learner Support Module
- Assignments - Check the box for all Assignments
- External Tools
- Click on the --> arrow next to Pages and check the box for the course home page. (Do NOT click on box next to the word "Pages" so that all pages are selected. We only want to select the Course Home Page.)
- If you have any pages, quizzes, or files that are NOT in a module that you want to copy, you can go into those sections and check the box next to those specific items. (Anything that is in a module selected to copy will come automatically.)

Clean Up the Copy

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. Check the order of the first few modules. We strongly encourage you to leave the census module first.
2. In the "Instructor Information" module, click on the + and choose Page from the drop down menu. Scroll to find the Meet Your Instructor page that you copied over, which should have a unique name, and select it.
3. Click to open the empty Meet Your Instructor page. Click on the 3 dots and choose Delete.
4. If desired, add a prerequisite to complete the census module to the first content module.
5. If using the Lock Until feature, confirm that the dates are correct

In the Assignments

1. Delete the old Academic Integrity Quiz. Click on the 3 dots in quiz title and select Delete from the drop-down menu. Select OK to confirm the deletion. Repeat this for all Academic Integrity Quizzes EXCEPT the one for the current term and any Verify Your Enrollment quizzes.
2. Set the Due Date and Available Until of the Academic Integrity Quiz to the correct census date for this section.
3. If desired, move the Academic Integrity Quiz to a different assignment group
4. Delete any empty assignment groups using the 3 dots in the gray assignment group title.
5. Delete any assignments that will not be assigned this term.
6. If you are using weighted grades, click on the 3 dots next to +Assignment and select Assignment Group Weights from the drop-down menu. Make sure "Weight final grade based on assignment groups" is checked. Double-check that the category weights match your syllabus and the Total is 100%. Select Save.
7. Click on the kabob menu (3 dots) and select Edit Assignment Dates. Confirm that the dates are correct and select Save.

On 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 previous course 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. In the Start Here section, click on the Academic Integrity Quiz and then choose Link Options. Select the Academic Integrity Quiz from the Quizzes section (there should only be one!) and choose Replace.
6. Update the page with any changes for this section, such as a textbook/3rd party access code.

On the Syllabus

While you can't copy and paste the entire syllabus from a previous term, you can copy and paste sections. One trick that makes copying tables easier is to select a word before the table (like the title) along with the entire table when copying and pasting. That keeps the table formatting correct.

Double-check all dates, particularly the census date.

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.