Importing Content in Canvas using the Course Import Tool

"Importing Content in Canvas using the Course Import Tool" banner which shows drawings of pages with scribbles on them. An arrow points from these pages to the Canvas logo.

As you set up your course(s) for a new semester, you may want to import (copy) course content from a prior semester. Importing a previous course is a great option for faculty who have already taught the course before and wish to migrate their existing course content over to the next semester. You will want to ensure your course is empty before importing an entire course. Imports are additive, which means new content is added onto existing content.

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What if I want to copy content from a different course I did not teach previously?

Courses cannot be copied by faculty who do not own the course content. If you need a course copy that is not your original content, you must seek permission from the owner first, and then submit an Ed Tech Support Ticket to have the content copied into your course.

Resetting Course Content

Resetting a Canvas course essentially wipes out all content within your course and creates a fresh new course shell for you. The new course shell will contain a few basic items (we refer to this as the CCS Template) to help get you started building your course content.

  1. Log in to the Canvas course you wish to reset.
  2. In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.
  3. In the sidebar located on the right-hand side of your screen, click the Reset Course Content link. A pop-up window with additional information will appear.
  4. Read through the information displayed, and click the red Reset Course Content button.
Within your course Settings screen, click on the Reset Course Content link on the right-hand side of your screen, and then click on the red Reset Course Content button.
Within your course Settings screen, click on the Reset Course Content link on the right-hand side of your screen, and then click on the red Reset Course Content button.

Your course will be reset, and the CCS Template will be copied into your course automatically.

Importing a Previous Course into a Current Course

When importing (copying) content from one course to another, it is important that you log in to the course where the content will be imported into…not the course where the content currently lives. Think of it this way:

  • Source course: This is the course where your content currently lives.
    • Example: FALL 2024 COMPOSTION II (DEN-102-A)
  • Destination course: This is the course where the content will be imported (copied) into.
    • Example: WINTER 2025 COMPOSTION II (DEN-102-A)
  1. Log in to your Canvas course where you would like to import (copy) course content into.
    • Using the above example, this is your Destination course.
  2. In Course Navigation, click the Settings link.
  3. In the sidebar located on the right-hand side of your screen, click on Import Course Content.
  4. In the Content Type drop-down list, select Copy a Canvas Course.
Select "Copy a Canvas Course" from the "Content Type" drop-down menu. You will then be prompted to search for the course you want to copy into your current course.
Use the Copy a Canvas Course function to import (copy) content from one course to another.
  1. In the Search for a course area, use the drop-down list to Select a course or the Course name text box to type in a course name, a course number, or a CourseID number.  Select a course from a past semester to copy into the course that you are currently logged into.
    • Using the above example, this is your Source course.
    • Some users may not see the Select a course drop-down list.  This is because the user has access to over 100 courses in Canvas.
    • If you choose to search by the CourseID number, it can be found in the URL of a Canvas course.
      • Example: https://collegeforcreativestudies.instructure.com/courses/#### where #### is the CourseID number
  2. Either:
    • Choose the All Content radio button to import (copy) all content.
    • Choose the Select specific content radio button if you only want to import (copy) parts of a past course into your current course.
  3. If you want to adjust dates, select the Adjust events and due dates checkbox.
  4. Click the Import button.
    • If you chose to Select specific content, you will be able to pick which content to import (copy).

Your course import will be added under the heading Current Jobs. You may leave this screen while the course import is running. Return to the Import Course Content screen to check on the status. Depending on the size of your course, your import may take several minutes to process.

Reviewing Your Course Content

After importing your course content, you will need to check your course for accuracy. Check the following:

  • Course Homepage is correct
  • Assignments have imported
  • Assignment Groups add up to 100%
  • Modules imported correctly
  • Adjust any Assignment due dates using the Canvas Bulk Update tool.

Additional Resources