Quick Links: | Background | Solution | Root Cause |
Faculty and students may find themselves needing to access course materials, submissions, or records from a previous term in Canvas. This can be necessary for various reasons, such as reviewing past coursework, accessing old assignments for reference, or retrieving grades and feedback.
Background
This situation applies to users of the Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), including both faculty and students. It is relevant across all devices and platforms where Canvas is accessible, including the browser and the Canvas Mobile app.
Solution
Courses in previous terms can be found in your past enrollments. To access courses from a previous term in Canvas, follow these steps:
- Log in to Canvas by visiting canvas.csuchico.edu. Enter your credentials to log in.
- Select the Courses tab in the global navigation menu.
- Select All Courses from the menu.
- Scroll down to the Past Enrollments section. Here, you will find a list of courses from previous terms.
- Select the course title to access the course. Note that in past enrollments, you can view course content but may not be able to interact with the course. If you need to make changes to the archived course, contact Learning Technology Services: learningtech@csuchico.edu.
Root Cause
Courses from previous terms are not immediately visible on the Canvas dashboard due to the platform's design, which prioritizes current and upcoming courses for a more organized user experience. Access to courses in Canvas is governed by the dates set for each course section. Once a course section reaches its end date, it is automatically moved to 'Past Enrollments', limiting the ability to interact with the course. This is a standard feature in Canvas to organize courses according to academic terms and to manage the availability of course content to students and faculty. It ensures that Canvas remains organized and that users can focus on current courses while retaining the ability to reference past courses when necessary.