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Use the 'Import Existing Content' button on the home page of your new course site. This is the recommended method for getting files/materials and the organizational structure from a past site into a new site. If you don't see a particular site, ask canvas-support@mit.edu to add you to it.

1. Before Import: Identify the old site to copy

Past sites are under 'Courses' (far left navigation menu) > 'All Courses' (link at top of sidebar).

Modules, Files, Pages, Assignments, etc. as they exist on the old site will carry forward.
Note: You will be able to edit these items further after the import on the new site (more on this in Step 3).

Take note of the name and semester of the old site, for Step 2.

Note: You can also copy over a few individual items from an old site to a new site, if doing a full course import does not fit your context. Read more about that option here.

2A. During Import: Choose what gets copied

Find your new site: On your Dashboard, scroll down to the 'Unpublished' section.

Click the 'Import Existing Content' button on the right side of the home page.

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Next:

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1. Choose 'Copy a Canvas Course.'

2. Type in the name of the course you're importing, verifying it's the correct name and semester.
Note: Importing the wrong site cannot be easily undone.

3. Choose what content you want to import from the past course:

a. All content.

b. Select specific content. If you choose this, you will click the '+ Add to Import Queue' button on this page first, then click the 'Select content' button when it appears under the 'Content imports' section below it.

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After clicking the 'Select content' button, a window will appear with a list of items available to import from the past site, organized by Canvas feature. Check the boxes next to the items you want to import.

2B. During Import: Adjust dates (optional)

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4. If you will be importing Assignments and/or Calendar events, you can adjust events & due dates by checking the box.

Note: Only assignments that include a due date assigned to "Everyone" or "Everyone Else" will retain a due date during a course import.

5. Choose to shift the old due dates to the correct upcoming dates OR remove all related dates.

6. If you choose to shift dates, enter the Beginning and Ending dates of the past course, and enter the new Beginning and Ending dates of the upcoming course. Filling in all four boxes with accurate dates allows Canvas to shift the dates as proportionally as possible. Once the course is imported, you can continue to adjust any dates manually.

a. Beginning date = when the course you're importing began (i.e., your first day of class that semester).

Note: This box may be auto-populated with a date that you may need to update.

b. ...change to = the first day of your upcoming course

c. Ending date = when the course you're importing ended (i.e., your last day of class that semester)

d. ...change to = the last day of your upcoming course

7. You can also explicitly define day substitutions to adjust for changing class schedules (i.e., moving all Assignments due on Mondays to Tuesdays). You can create as many substitution dates as necessary.

Finally, whether you followed the steps in just 2A or both 2A and 2B, click the '+ Add to Import Queue' button when you are ready.

3. After Import: Organize, edit, update

It is recommended that you:

Update past dates (if you did not adjust or substitute), assignments, and event-related details

Re: Assignments: If you selected individual Assignments to copy over, they are placed in an Assignment group called 'Imported Assignments.' You can move these into other Assignment groups as necessary. You can also bulk update Assignment due dates and availability dates.
Re: Calendar Events: Locations noted on events (i.e., office hours slots with an office location noted) are not included in imports, so you would need to add a location to those items.

Clean up the Files section, where appropriate: Consider how you might move and re-organize or delete files in the Files section, to maintain content only for the current iteration of the class on the new site and avoid clutter.
Note: By default, all past sites and content remain accessible to instructors indefinitely; content is never removed unless the course team deletes it.

If your past Canvas site had Panopto videos:

If Panopto was enabled on the past Canvas site and you would like those Panopto videos to also be available on the new site: you will need to copy these files over separately. See this page for instructions on how to do this.

4. Beyond Import: Continue setting up the site

After a course import, you may also want to:

Manually add any TAs or course admins responsible for building or managing the site after the import
Change the home page layout
Upload new files, such as an updated syllabus
Note: Once uploaded to the Files section, add the file to Modules, a Page, an Assignment, etc. to display for students.
Modify the navigation menu and enable any LTIs you want to use
Note: Dropbox and the Redirect tool are located under Settings > Apps.
Check/update your notification settings

5. Final Reminder: Publish the site!

The site will remain unpublished until you publish it. Before publishing, recommended actions include:

Publishing the Pages, Assignments, Modules and Module items you want to be visible to students right away.
Checking for broken/unresponsive links, which the link validator tool site. can help with.
Using 'Student View' to see what your course site will look like from a student's point of view once published.

Publish the course from the Home page when you are ready for students to see the site.

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