Add new functionality for long-term data management

Theme Overview

Institutions do not have a systematic way to manage old/stale data; certain objects they'd like to have deleted after some period of time so that it doesn't clutter their interface. 

What value could this provide to users?

  • Admins can provide a data retention policy for various Canvas objects (ex: users/courses/files)
  • Objects that "expire" can be automatically deleted from the Canvas database
  • Admins have a grace period and UI to review objects that Canvas has slated for future deletion
  • A user that is slated for deletion can see that their user will be deleted; admins can customize the message that the user sees so that the user can notify them if it seems to be a mistake
  • A course that is slated for deletion will show a prominent message stating that it will be deleted on XYZ data; admins can customize this message for the call to action in case someone thinks the course shouldn't be deleted

 

Why was this theme chosen to open for voting?

April 2023 • As customers continue to use Canvas for longer durations, their data will grow. We want to enable better data management as well as compliance with privacy and security standards.

Why was this theme not chosen for prioritization?

June 2023 • In researching this theme and potential approaches to solve it, we identified cross-system dependencies which require more evaluation. However, we recognize the value in supporting data retention capabilities and plan to reconsider this for priority in the first half of 2024 while we continue our product and technical discovery.

 

13 Comments
ProductPanda
Instructure
Instructure
Status changed to: Open for Voting
Note from Instructure

April 2023 • This theme was chosen to Open for Voting. 

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IanGoh
Community Contributor

It sounds good, but then there will be the inevitable, how do I undelete/restore something...

nathanboettcher
Community Explorer

I cannot overstate just how important this feature would be. We cannot and should not store data indefinitely for cost and liability reasons, and we need a way to automate this in such a way that this is clearly communicated to faculty. Of all the ideas open for voting currently, this is my number one.

melodyc_lam
Community Contributor

This is probably my #1 feature as well. We do have an archival process in place at my district, but being able to apply data retention policies without having to use API calls or remembering to run a process externally would be amazing.

rccallahan
Community Explorer

Finally. Your 'long-term' clients need a solution, in order to remain clients. Please make this project a priority.

JamesSekcienski
Community Contributor

We are preparing an archiving process and would greatly appreciate this being developed rather than needing to develop and maintain our own scripts to fully manage the process.

@IanGoh I fully agree with the need to be able to restore/undelete auto-deleted content.  It would probably be safest for the first phase to go to a temporary delete area (like a Recycle Bin) so it can be easily restored if needed, but have a permanent delete from the temporary area after "x" days.  There is the ability to restore courses through the GUI and it would be nice if there was an easy way to restore users through the GUI too.

It doesn't look like it is specifically covered in the ideas above, but one of the concerns I have seen in the community are long term lists.  When the list of terms becomes too long, it slows down certain parts of Canvas like the course search because of how long it takes to load in all the terms to the drop-down list.

sdierk
Community Participant

Definitely a top request here as well. At what point does the data collection start becoming a data compost pile?

@JamesSekcienski Agreed on the over-long terms list. Not sure how others have managed to avoid this, but your comment is right on target.

milesl
Community Contributor

I'm also very interested in this theme, but I'm a bit confused because the referenced ideas are very limited in scope.

Something I would like to see is a more robust course download option. Instructors can easily download the common cartridge, but they may want to archive the data that is not included in the common cartridge--grades, submissions, discussion posts, etc. It would be a lot easier for us to implement a retention policy if instructors had a streamlined way to manage their own data.

KathyPalm
Community Participant

We are almost on 2 full years with Canvas and I'm often asked how to "hide" courses as it's feeling cluttered. Having some smart features for cleanup and overall data management will be very useful!

Charles_Barbour
Community Participant

@milesl I agree 100%. Of course that might raise the question of whether we're shifting long term storage and FERPA responsibilities onto our users.

hmcneill
Community Participant

This is also a key requirement for my institution. We need to be able to archive and remove data in accordance with our data retention policies and wider data regulations. This includes permanently deleting user records and data, and better options for archiving courses such as being able to set an expiry/deletion date. 

ProductPanda
Instructure
Instructure
Status changed to: Post Voting Review
 
ProductPanda
Instructure
Instructure
Status changed to: Identified
  Comments from Instructure

June 2023 • This theme was not chosen for prioritization.

In researching this theme and potential approaches to solve it, we identified cross-system dependencies which require more evaluation. However, we recognize the value in supporting data retention capabilities and plan to reconsider this for priority in the first half of 2024 while we continue our product and technical discovery.

Commenting on Themes is available when Themes are Open for Voting, In Development, or Prioritized.