Can't delete assignments

[lglen2]

I can't delete a module; it lets me set it up, but then once I hit "Delete Group" I just get the spinning star forever. When I refresh the module is still there.

Tried deleting the individual assignments. In this case it lets me delete them, asks me to confirm the delete and they disappear from the module. But when I refresh, they come back.

Help??

[jcarpenter1]

Hello @lglen2!  I sounds as though this course might be concluded, which makes it a read-only course.  Here is a link that helps explain what a concluded course is.  

• How do I conclude a course at the end of a term as an instructor?

Jen

[lglen2]

Nope; this is a "Boilerplate" course; there are no students in the roster, and none of the assignments has been completed.

[Chris_Hofer]

@lglen2 ...

Would it be possible for you to create a short screenshot video that you could then post here so we can see exactly what you are trying to do?  If not a video, then maybe a few attached screenshots?

[lglen2]

Sure! Here ya go...

[Chris_Hofer · Accepted solution]

Hi again, @lglen2 ...

Thank you for sharing that video.  Just so we are all on the same page, you were using the term "module" in your video and in your original question, but you are actually on the "Assignments" index page.  The area on the "Assignments" page that you're having difficulties with is an Assignment Group called "Delete".  The "Modules" course navigation is separate from the "Assignments" course navigation button.

After reviewing your video, I tried making an Assignment Group in my own sandbox course, and I put three assignments in it.  After exiting that page and returning to the "Assignments" index page (just so that things refreshed properly), I was able to successfully delete a single assignment and then delete the entire Assignment Group I had just created.

Have you tried things like clearing your browser cache/history?  Or, maybe try a different browser completely?  Many people use either Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox.  However, I can also tell you that I've had good success with the Microsoft Edge browser on my Windows 11 laptop.

• How do I clear my browser cache on a Mac?
• How do I clear my browser cache on a PC?
• What are the browser and computer requirements for Instructure products?

After clearing your cache, I always recommend shutting down the browser, re-opening the browser, and then try to log back in to Canvas to see if things are working better for you.

I know that one of the other Canvas Coaches, @chriscas, also watched your video, and he wasn't able to replicate what you are experiencing either.

If none of the above works, I'd recommend reaching out to Canvas Support to see if they can be of more assistance to you.  I'd be interested in hearing what they have to say, so if you go this route, please come back to this topic to provide an update.

How do I get help with Canvas as an instructor?

Good luck, and keep us posted!  Thanks!

[lglen2]

Thanks, yes I meant "Assignment Group" not "Module". They look the same, so it's easy to call them one thing when just referring back to the screen while writing a post.

Yes, I've cleared my cache, but I haven't tried shutting down the browser. I have a lot of tabs open as I'm currently building a course and I have a lot of moving parts. I'll try that soon and hopefully it'll help.

[lglen2]

I'm afraid closing and restarting the browser didn't help either. I followed your link to finding help, but my institution doesn't appear to allow me to ask for help from Instructure. I can only ask my in-house helpdesk. I'll start a ticket; my guess is that they'll contact Instructure; goodness knows why I can't be trusted, but that's another story...

<rant>While I'm here, and because I'm going to have to guess which squares have motorcycles to post this anyway, why do they make it SO hard to reply to posts here?? I mean I get it, but the images are sometimes impossible to make out, and you have to select so many of the flipping squares! It's incredibly frustrating when you're already frustrated!!!</rant>

[Chris_Hofer]

@lglen2 ...

I'm afraid closing and restarting the browser didn't help either. I followed your link to finding help, but my institution doesn't appear to allow me to ask for help from Instructure. I can only ask my in-house helpdesk. I'll start a ticket; my guess is that they'll contact Instructure; goodness knows why I can't be trusted, but that's another story...

Sorry to read that my suggestions didn't work and that you don't appear to have a link to get help from Instructure.  This may be because of the Help Desk option your school has chosen to go with.  When I worked in higher education back in Wisconsin, we chose to pay for Tier 1 support from Instructure (the folks that make Canvas).  This meant that most of the tech support calls from our faculty and staff went to Instructure's help desk staff first.  And then, if there were questions specific to our college, those were then passed back to my department for us to handle/address.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, some schools have a local/on campus help desk in place (we did not) to handle requests like this, so their model for Canvas support was different.  This might be the case at your school, but your local Canvas administrator would be able to tell you more about this.

---

<rant>While I'm here, and because I'm going to have to guess which squares have motorcycles to post this anyway, why do they make it SO hard to reply to posts here?? I mean I get it, but the images are sometimes impossible to make out, and you have to select so many of the flipping squares! It's incredibly frustrating when you're already frustrated!!!</rant>

---

I saw your other question that you posted here:

Proving I'm human - Instructure Community (canvaslms.com)

I replied with a couple links for you to look through:

• How do I rank up in the Instructure Community? - Instructure Community
• What are the Community ranks and roles? - Instructure Community

If you take a look at the first link, under the heading Rank Up to Community Member, it says, "This helps keep the community free from spam content and ensures a safe and productive environment for all members."  Hopefully this helps to explain why the Community Managers have implemented this to cut down on spam.

Hope this all helps in some way.

[lglen2]

Thanks. How do I get a hold of them though? That's always seemed like a problem to me; we're given this platform, but no way to reach someone who can actually do anything, or at least that's how it feels. If there's a way to reach a tech, I'd love to know about it!

[Chris_Hofer]

@lglen2 ...

See my other response in this thread.  You may need to reach out to your school's local Canvas administrator to see what the proper procedure is to get help with Canvas locally at your school.  They would be able to tell you what options are available.  Good luck!

[lglen2]

For the record, I've fixed this.

I'm dealing (separately) with an issue where my modules either gray out all the assignments in them or don't, when I lock the modules and have available from dates assigned. I haven't figured that one out yet, but I noticed that the assignments I was trying to delete had both due dates and available from dates associated with them. When I removed those, the individual assignments deleted just fine, and so did the whole module.

Whew! One mystery solved!