Course Reset?

[gailc]

What is the preferred method to recycle a course for the next cohort? Would it be create 1) export course content and import into new, 2) reset or 3) conclude course? 

Thoughts appreciated...

Gail

[kona]

Due to accreditation purposes we leave a course as is other than, through terms, concluding it. For new groups of students we create a new course and copy the content from the previous course over into it. 

In addition, resetting a course would completely clear it, of all course content and course submissions. 

[gailc]

I do the same - just ending up with multiple concluded courses. I was in hopes there was a procedure to keep course content and remove submissions. 

[kona]

Nope, only way to clear a course is to clear everything. Even if you delete the students it wouldn’t reset the content so assignments and quizzes couldn’t be unpublished, etc.

[gailc]

I work with Moodle as well which has the capability to clear submissions and users from the course. Makes for a much cleaner and easier method - back up course and reset. It would be a nice feature to have in Canvas.

[kmeeusen]

 @gailc  

The major problem with recycling a course is that you loose the documentation of student grading and the submissions that resulted in the grades. All states have retention laws that require this information be available and maintained for a specified time, and many schools have policies to extend the retention period as part of their risk management policies and processes.

I would check with your school's administration before wiping content and submissions from a student course.  I note that you are out of Pennsilvania, and your can find your state's retention laws at Pennsylvania Code 

I hope this helps,

Kelley

[gailc]

Options within Moodle allow administrators to backup courses and choose to retain user information or chose not to retain user info in a course backup. This makes it easy to retain course/user info yet clear submissions for a new cohort.

In Canvas, I conclude a course then export/import into a new course shell. It just becomes a long process since I typically add module links to the left and on the main page which need to be reworked within a new course shell.

[thebert]

. . . and students want to review the course because the course is available--unlike a "live" course.

[dlyons]

Gail,

I'll second Kelley's thoughts that confirming your institution's practices (official rules/expectations not just "how it's always been done) is essential, but to expand on that a little bit a lot of those processes are likely based on a combination of requirements and technical limitations. The last university I worked for kept courses for two years in their old LMS entirely because storing them longer was too expensive and difficult. When we moved to Canvas we reviewed that policy because we realized that storing courses forever in Canvas is not only doable (cloud FTW!) but is a boon to students and instructors to maintain their academic record.

Of course your mileage may vary if you have reason to remove, delete, or otherwise obscure access to courses, but once the technical limitations are removed it's worth considering what you want to do when you're not bound by what you have to do.  

Hope that helps.

[gailc]

Your comments are helpful...thank you!!!

[gailc]

David -

If grades are linked to a Student Information System wouldn't grade records/transcripts suffice? 

[kmeeusen]

Unfortunately, No!

If this is a grade challenge based on student submissions, then you might need to make available student submission, or lack thereof, that earned the grade available to the student or the student's representative or counsel.

"But I should have gotten an A on that paper!"

Again, you should seek out your school's policies in this regard. Acting independent of policy can really bite you.

Kelley

[kona]

At our school for both grade appeals and accreditation purposes we often have to show login history to the LMS (Canvas) to be able to tell when things were submitted, and be able to find specific submissions and assignments. 

[thebert]

I wish we would promote the ePub feature of Canvas to students. They would have all the content, their performance, and a nice neat portfolio of the whole. Sadly, most students and faculty and even our department don't know about a students ability to save the course through ePub. Then, storing courses would be unnecessary.

BTW: ePub is ONLY available to current courses. Students cannot save a concluded course. I'm not sure why. 😞