[Canvas Data] Preservation of Critical Data

[millerjm]

We have recently discovered that all of the information in  Canvas UI -> Admin -> Admin Tools -> Logging in Canvas data is only retained for one calendar year.This information is imperitive to our institution for things like researching whether a student had access to a class on the first day, whether a grade was changed (if so who changed it and when), and login/logout.  We have some instructors who consistently do not publish their course prior to the first day of class and the fact that this data is not easily available in the UI, canvasdata, or even a report is very frustrating.  Since this information in Admin Tools is only retained for one calendar year, we can't even provide this history to a supervisor if needed since we it's not available.  We also are unable to research in the case of a grade change or refund petition or lawsuit since the data is only kept for one year. 

Thank you,

Joni

[awilliams]

Hey  @millerjm ‌. As a former admin, I can really feel your pain. The questions that came my way that were regulatory, accreditation, or legal in nature were always very delicate matters and I felt I never really had enough information and I was always looking at ways to get at more. It seems like you may be in a similar situation. Your institution has needs for records for a myriad of situations, and through the Canvas UI, you are only presented with a subset of what you need in those situations. For this reason, at the time of my departure, I was pushing very hard at my institution for a comprehensive approach to dealing with Canvas Data. 

I can't tell exactly what is being requested from the description of this idea. I think it is to preserve all of the data for all time for the 3 logs that are presented in the Admin Tools. I believe the challenges involved with delivering that much data to a user over a web interface is a core reason why Canvas Data exists. Are you finding that Canvas Data does not contain the records you are looking for?

Because this may be possible with Canvas Data, and the precise nature of the request may need some clarification, I am going to place this idea in moderation until we can correspond a bit more. Thanks and talk to you soon!

[millerjm]

Adam,

This information does not exist in Canvas Data.  I have opened up tickets with support, the Canvas Data Help team and have had several conversations with my CSM who has done her own legwork.  If you need it I can provide several ticket numbers.

The request is to at the very least retain the information that is not available in Canvas Data until such a time as that information is available in Canvas Data. 

Course Activity data, so that we can find out when a class was published, when a course was copied, and when other things were changed regarding a course. 

Grade change history is not available in canvas data.  There is the submission score but if that is changed the submission_dim and submission_fact are also updated since there is only one record in these tables per student/class so there is not a way to see the grading history in canvas data.

If this information can be provided in Canvas Data, then there is less of a need for it in the UI.  

Thank you.

Joni

[Renee_Carney]

Thanks for the clarification, Joni.  We'll get this opened back up!

We also appreciate that you've kept your CSM in the loop on this and that you've taken pro-active measures to share your experiences first hand at InstCon!

[millerjm]

Thank you,  @Renee_Carney ‌