Reminder: Hard Deletes and Upcoming Course Shells
Hard Deletes:
This is a reminder that VCU Learning Management Systems will begin permanently deleting Canvas Courses that are 5 or more years old on June 1, 2026 to remain in compliance with the data retention policies of The Library of Virginia. For more information, visit the Records Management Policy & Canvas Usage at VCU page. Once these courses have been deleted, there will be no option for retrieval.
Now is the perfect time to start considering your next steps. We first announced this back in December, with recommendations to use the export and import workflow for moving course information from old courses into new shells. This helps keep courses more stable in the event that something that is copied, instead of imported, becomes obsolete or unavailable upon the deletion of its native course.
Course Shells for the Upcoming Term(s):
Canvas course shells for upcoming terms will be released on the same day that registration opens. For details on semester registration dates, please refer to the VCU Academic Calendar.
The Summer 2026 course shells are projected to be accessible on February 10, 2026 and Fall 2026 course shells are projected to be accessible on March 23, 2026.
Course Exports/Imports & The Course Creation Tool:
It is important to know that you should use the export and import workflow for moving course information from old courses into new shells. You can use our non-academic course creation tool to make a primary template to store course exports.
Individual or Group Faculty Training:
An additional reminder that faculty can request individual or group/departmental training by clicking on the “Request Training” button on the Learning Systems website.
This training is intended for faculty who want to learn how to use the instructional tools supported by Learning Systems (i.e., Canvas and Kaltura).For questions or concerns, email [email protected].