Copying Content from One Canvas Course Into Another Canvas Course

Canvas supports the ability to copy / import course content from one course to another. This functionality allows instructors to roll over course materials from semester to semester, course to course, without having to recreate a course from scratch. This copy process creates a clean version of course items like discussions, assignments, and quizzes in the receiving course site.

While the Import Course Content process brings over much of the Canvas developed content from a previous version of your course, there are a number of external applications that you may need to update separately to work correctly in the new copy of your course. After you have imported a copy of your course content, please be sure to review the "Refining and Updating Your Course" section below to ensure all components of your course will function correctly once you have copied your course materials.

Table of Contents

This article will address the following information:

Check out our "Tips on Importing Course Content" resource for recommendations on things to keep in mind when copying course content from one course to another.

For the vendor guide on how to copy content, please visit their article found here.

Copying a Canvas Course

  1. Starting in Canvas course you wish to copy materials into, click "Settings" in your course navigation bar.
  2. Click on the "Course Details" tab across the top.
  3. Click "Import Course Content" on the right-hand side.

  1. From the "Content Type" drop down menu, select "Copy a Canvas Course."
    1. Complete the "Import Content" form that appears.
    1. If the course is in a past term, make sure to click the "Include completed courses" checkbox to find it.
    1. See the section "Modifying Due Dates During Import" below for more information.

    If you are importing all content the process will begin and your course materials will be imported. Depending on how large your course is, this process may take several minutes to complete. You will be able to see the progress under the "Current Jobs" section of the Import Content page.

    If you are importing only specific content continue in the next section on "Selecting Specific Content."

    Selecting Specific Content

    1. If you opted to "Select specific content," you will see your import listed under the "Current Jobs" area of the Import Content Page. To choose which parts of your source course will be copied, click the "Select Content" button to the far right of the job.

    1. In the "Select Content" pop-up box that appears select the check boxes next to the content that you want to copy.
    2. For some content types, you may be able to expand and see more options by clicking on the down arrows. Use this to have more granular control of which course items you want to copy.
    3. When you have selected everything that you want, click the "Select Content" button. The process will begin and your selected course materials will be imported. Depending on how large the content is, this process may take several minutes to complete. You will be able to see the progress under the "Current Jobs" section of the Import Content page.

    Select content

    Modifying Due Dates During Import

    When you import one course into another, during the import process, there is an option to modify the due dates and availability dates all at one time.

    1. When initially filling out the "Import Content" form, select the option "Adjust events and due dates."
    2. Fill out the start / end date for the original course and the new start / end date for the course you are copying content into.
    3. You can click "+Substitution" button to change which days of the weeks the events and due dates should now be on (if applicable).

    Refining and Updating Your Course

    While the Import Course Content process brings over much of the content developed in a previous version of the course, there may be a number of external applications that need to be updated to work correctly in this new copy of your course. If you used one of the tools listed below in a previous version or your course, or in an early course sandbox, please review the information to update these resources as well.

    Course Reserves content is not included with this process. In order to copy your Course Reserves content, please see the article: Course Reserves: Importing Items from a Previous Class.

    Contact [email protected] if you have any questions or problems with Course Reserves.

    Media Library content is not included with this process. In order to copy your Media Library content, please see this article: How do I migrate Media Library course content from one library to another?

    Contact [email protected] if you have any questions or problems with Media Library.

    For more help, please contact [email protected] .