Again, Can't Remove Nicknames from Old Courses

[SterlingF]

Same issue as found here: https://community.canvaslms.com/t5/Canvas-Question-Forum/Removing-Nicknames-From-Old-Courses/m-p/513...

That issue was erroneously marked "solved." The "solution" is to change the dates of the course...but if the term is ended, you still cannot do it. 

We need a real solution to this issue, but Canvas devs seem uninterested in repairing this. 

[Jeff_F · Accepted solution]

Hello @SterlingF - until such time as a new approach for managing nicknames is created I'd like to suggest setting a reminder to remove or edit the nickname from courses near term end.

Another approach I've suggested is to have a 'sandbox' course for each course taught and use that as a repository for learning objects, assignments, etc. that I may wish to reuse. That way everything is in one place and I would not need to create an index of prior courses using course nicknames.

[SterlingF]

I have set a reminder indeed! I just have these old courses with nicknames from before I knew about this. Now when I go to copy a material to a course, if start to type in the searchbox, the old ones pop up. 😞

[Jeff_F]

@SterlingF - if it helps, one additional suggestion when importing content is to search by the course id number and not by the nickname. For example:

--------------------

copy content by course id number

[chriscas]

Hi @SterlingF,

I marked @Jeff_F's reply as the solution here because this really is how Canvas is designed.  When a course is concluded/ended, the course is basically in an archived read-only type state.  I know the nickname is a slightly more personal thing, but as as admin, I can certainly see a slippery slope happening if nickname changed were allowed for concluded courses.  I think Jeff's suggestion of setting a reminder for yourself to change the nickname before the end of the course is good.  You could also ask your local admin if they would be willing to change your old nicknames for you (but it would involve temporarily changing dates on all of your old courses at least temporarily, so I wouldn't be surprised if they say no).

Sorry for any inconvenience this is causing you.

-Chris