Manage Courses (Rollover) FAQ

Q. Why can I see no content when I select the Manage Courses tool?

A. Are you using Edge 18 or IE11 as your browser?

We will not be supporting Internet Explorer 11, and ask that you use a different browser. We plan to fix the issues with Edge 18 in the future.

If you have any issues with the rollover status in Chrome failing to load, please report this to canvas@it.ox.ac.uk, as we are currently investigating a potential bug. Occasionally the spinner for the status spins forever, which is possibly related to use of a VPN connection.

Q. My course says it has been rolled over, but why is there no child course?

A. Perhaps the child course has been deleted manually using the native Canvas functionality.

If a course that was previously created using Manage Courses is then deleted using the Canvas delete functionality (i.e. using the Delete this Course feature in a course’s Settings) then the Manage Courses tool will be unaware of this deletion and will think that the child course is still active. It will therefore not let you roll over that course a second time.

Only a limited selection of users are able to delete courses using the native Canvas delete functionality, so this problem should not be frequent. We ask that people with this functionality think carefully before using it, and where possible use the Delete option in the Manage Courses tool instead – see next question and answer.

For more information, refer to the page: Manage Courses

Q. My course has been rolled over, but I need to redo it, so how do I delete the newly rolled-over course?

A. Find the newly rolled-over (created) course in Manage Courses then on the 3 dots menu you should have an option to delete it:

There are limitations as to which courses you can delete:

  • It must have been created by the Manage Courses tool
  • It must not be published
  • It must be less that 4 months old
  • If the course itself has already been rolled over, you cannot delete it; you would have to first delete the 'child' course of the parent course that you are wanting to delete

The central team can always delete a course if you get stuck. If you need assistance, please contact canvas@it.ox.ac.uk.

Q. Why can my course not be rolled over?

A. There are at least three reasons why a course cannot be rolled over:

  • It has already been rolled over (a course cannot be rolled over multiple times)
  • Its 'Term' is set to 'Ongoing' (ongoing courses are not related to a specific time period or student cohort)
  • It is a 'blueprint' course

Q. What is copied over by default into the new course shell?

A. The following items are automatically copied over:

  • Course image (that appears on the Dashboard course 'card')
  • Course description (it is advisable to complete this, if not already in place - Go to Settings > Course Details and complete the Description box)

Q. If I elect to 'include content', which items will be copied by the 'Manage Courses' to my new course?

A. The content copied using this functionality is exactly the same as that copied using Settings > Import course content, with the exception of Announcements. The following items will be copied over from the existing course to the new one:

Tool: Copied over (Yes/No)?
Announcements: No
Assignments: Yes (assignments, not submissions)
Attendance: No
Calendar events: No
Chat: No
Conferences: No
Discussions: Yes (topics, not replies)
Files: Yes
Grades: No
Group sets: No
Home page: Yes
Links: All links are copied, and links to content within the same course will be updated to point to the new version of that content in the new course. Links to other courses, or external to Canvas, will be copied unchanged. 
Modules: Yes
Pages: Yes
Quizzes: Yes (quizzes, not responses)

Notes:

  1. Embedded (external) tools including Panopto, Cabinet, Oxford Reading Lists (ORLO), Calendar import, Sign-up and Class Notebook will not be copied over. These will need to be checked and updated in the new course.
  2. If there is a case where you need the calendar events copied you can do a selective import of the events from the old course in Settings -> Import Course Content after rollover has completed and select the date adjustment you need. You should see the content migration created by the Manage Courses tool in there as well, which indicates which course to copy from.

Q. What will happen to the dates that may be attached to content items (e.g. closing date of an assignment)?

A. Dates on content items are automatically shifted, if the parent course has particular start and end dates.

This is because the date shifting function needs both a start and an end date to calculate the adjustment. The main implication of this is that Academic Year courses will always have their content dates shifted, but Entry Year courses will not.

Q. How do I change the name of a rolled over course?

A. As a LCC/Unit Admin you can change name of a rolled over course without having to be enrolled on the course as a Teacher via Manage Courses tool. Click the ellipsis (three dots) button next to the course you rolled over and select 'Edit' option. A window will be opened within the Manage courses tool to amend the course name.