Accessing Past Courses in Canvas as an Instructor: What You Need to Know

January 27, 2025 / Tech Notes & Training

As an instructor, you may need to review past courses, copy content, or check student submissions. Knowing how to access archived courses and the limits on unpublishing them is key.

How to Find Past Courses
After a term ends, courses move from the Dashboard to Past Enrollments and may be in read-only mode.

  1. Log in to Canvas.

  2. Click Courses in the left menu.

  3. Scroll down and select All Courses.

  4. Find your course under Past Enrollments.

Can You Unpublish a Course?
No. Once a course is published and students submit work, Canvas prevents unpublishing to protect records and grades.

What You can do
Copy to a New Course: Use the Course Import Tool to transfer content without affecting the original.

Bottom Line
You can’t unpublish a past course, but you can still access and repurpose content. Need help? Contact NOVA’s Canvas & EdTech Support Services.

Submitted by:
Johnna Denny, CETSS, JDenny@nvcc.edu