Copy a Canvas Course

Quick Links: | Before You Begin | Instructions | Review Your Course | Troubleshooting

Copying a previous Canvas course allows you to reuse course materials in a new semester. This guide uses selective copying to help you bring forward needed materials without carrying over unnecessary files, pages, and announcements.

Before You Begin

You need Teacher or Designer access to both:

• The previous course or sandbox containing the original content
• The new course where the content will be copied

Complete any needed cross-listing before copying course content.

Important: Begin the copy from the new course, that is, the course where you want the content to appear.

Avoid importing the same course repeatedly. A later import from the same source may replace content you have already edited in the new course.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Copy the Course

1. From the Canvas Global Navigation, select Courses.
2. Open the course for the upcoming term. Your course for the upcoming term is labeled with the title and term, or you can use its Course ID. You can also copy to a sandbox course.
3. From the course Home page, under Option 1: Copy from Previous Term or Sandbox, select Copy Content. Note: If this option is unavailable, select Import Existing Content from the Home page or Import Course Content from Course Settings.
   

4. From the Content Type menu, select Copy a Canvas Course from the drop-down menu.
5. In Search for a Course, find and select the previous course containing the content you want to reuse.
6. Under Content, select Select specific content.

Selecting specific content helps prevent unused files, outdated pages, and old announcements from accumulating in the new course.

Adjust Dates

Important: We recommend adjusting events and due dates during the course copy, or removing them. If dates from the previous course remain unchanged, students may be unable to access assignments, quizzes, modules, or other content. These restrictions can be difficult to identify because the affected items may still appear available to the instructor.

Under Options, select Adjust events and due dates, and then choose one of the following:

• Shift Dates (recommended): Enter the beginning and ending dates for the previous term and the upcoming term. Canvas will estimate corresponding dates in the new course, and you will be able to fine-tune later on the calendar or Assignment Bulk Date Editing Tool.
• Remove Dates: Remove existing due dates and availability dates so you can enter new dates manually after the import. 

Select Add to Import Queue.

Select the Content to Copy

After Canvas prepares the import:

1. In the Current Jobs or Content Imports area, select Select Content.
2. To import an entire content group, select the checkbox next to the group name. To review and select individual items, expand the group.

TLP recommends taking this opportunity to review content and leave behind unused and outdated content.

Select the main course content groups you want to reuse in their entirety, such as:

• Modules
• Assignments
• Quizzes
• Discussions
• Rubrics
• Question banks

Review Pages, Files, and Announcements separately before completing the import. 

Review Pages, Files, and Announcements

Include individual items when they are still part of the course, such as:

• A page linked from another page that is not included in a module
• The course card image
• A reusable announcement scheduled throughout the semester
• A file used outside a selected page, module, or activity

You can generally leave behind:

• Unused or duplicate files
• Draft or outdated pages
• Announcements about past deadlines, class cancellations, or other term-specific updates

Materials linked outside the selected modules, pages, or activities may need to be selected manually.

Not sure what is needed?

• Recommended in most cases: Make your best selections and complete the import. You can later use Copy To on individual items in the original course or return to Import Course Content to copy missing pages, files, or other items without repeating the entire course import.
   
• Alternative: If the course has a particularly complex structure and you are unsure how its content is connected, canceling the selective import and selecting All content may be the safer option. However, this may also bring forward unused course clutter, which can create additional maintenance and accessibility remediation work.

Complete the Import

After reviewing your selections, select Select Content or Import to begin the import.

Allow the import to finish before editing the new course. Large courses may take additional time to process.

If the imported content does not immediately appear, wait and refresh your browser. Do not repeat the course copy process multiple times. 

Important: After the import, the course Home page may still display the new course's original home page instead of the copied course's, even though your content copied successfully. Check Modules, Assignments, or Pages before repeating the import. Then update the course Home page to display your imported Front Page, Modules, or another preferred course entry point.

Review the Imported Course

Course copies can preserve outdated dates, broken links, and references to the previous term. Confirm that dates, links, instructions, files, external tools, and references to previous terms are current. 

After the import is complete:

• Review the import status for errors or warnings.
• Confirm that modules, pages, assignments, quizzes, discussions, and files appear as expected.
• Review all due dates and availability dates.
• Remove references to the previous semester, course section, or students.
• Review imported announcements before publishing or scheduling them.
• Test links, embedded images, videos, and external tools. Pro Tip: Use the Link Validator to scan your entire course and open flagged content.
• Confirm that the correct course Home page is selected.
• Use Student View to confirm that students can access required content.
• Use TidyUP to efficiently identify, review, and remove unused content if you imported the entire course or believe you copied materials that are no longer needed.

If content does not immediately appear, refresh the browser and allow additional time. If you need help, reach out to the Technology & Learning Program before repeating the import.

Troubleshooting

• Pages, files, or images are missing: This may occur when content was not selected or when an item was linked from outside the imported course structure. Return to Import Course Content and copy only the missing items. Avoid repeating the entire import.

• Links open content from the previous course: The linked page or file may not have been included in the import. Copy the missing item and update the link in the new course.

• Dates are incorrect: Review and update assignment due dates and availability dates. You can use Canvas’s bulk assignment date-editing tool to update multiple assignments.

• Content appears more than once: Review the course’s import history. Duplicate content may result from importing the same source course multiple times.

• The import appears to be incomplete:

  • Review the import status for errors or warnings. Refresh the browser and allow the import additional time to complete before starting another import. 

  • If you're on the Home page, check Modules, Pages, or Assignments to confirm content was imported. The course may still be using the default new-course Home page even though the imported content is available.

• The Home page is incorrect: Review How do I change the course Home page? for instructions.

Still need help? Reach out to Canvas support or the Technology & Learning Program for further assistance.