Re-cross listing

[HFY]

I have a course into which I merged a few sections. Now I was told that I need to de-cross the sections for an application and then re-cross list the sections. I am worried about losing the work students have already submitted. I am less worried about the grades (which I can export), and more worried about the discussion board submissions, which I still need everyone to see. 

I am getting conflicting information as to whether the work would return when I re-cross list the sections, so I asking here.  

[Chris_Hofer]

Hi there, @HFY ...

I'm not really sure of an answer for you, but you might be able to see if it will work if you try de-cross-listing in your school's "test" or "beta" environment.  (I'm assuming that you are a Canvas admin?)  Since these environments are copies of your main "production" environment (read more at What is the Canvas test environment? and What is the Canvas beta environment? and What is the Canvas release schedule for beta, production, and test environments?), you might be able to see how this work in either of those environments without disturbing anything in your school's main "production" environment.

• How do I access the Canvas test environment as an admin?
• How do I access the Canvas beta environment as an admin?

Do you think this might be a way for you to test out things to make sure they work correctly before you apply anything to your "production" environment?  Keep us posted...thanks!

[HeatherAhern · Accepted solution]

@HFY Thank you for reaching out to your community for support. 

As stated by @Chris_Hofer you can definitely check this in your Beta environment to see how it works. All data is stored within the course and not the section of enrollments. Therefore, when you de-cross list a section, any data connected to students in that section will be hidden within the parent course and you will not see it once the sections are separated. However, once you re-cross list the sections to exactly the way they were before you de-cross-listed, that information will be restored.

If you have assignments that are linked to an LTI, there is a possibility that these could be lost when de-cross-listing as those submissions are not stored in Canvas.

Can you provide more information regarding the application you are needing to de-cross list for?

[HFY]

Thank you everyone for your help. 

The de-cross listing did not affect the discussion board at all, and all of the assignment submission were retained when the sections were re-cross listed.