Canvas lets you archive courses you no longer teach or take, moving them out of your main course list without deleting them
Archiving a Canvas course hides it from your dashboard and course menu, but keeps all the content, grades, and discussions intact. You can unarchive it later if you need to access it again. The process differs slightly depending on whether you are an instructor or a student, and whether you are working on a computer or mobile device.
Instructors can archive their own courses from the course settings menu. Students cannot archive courses themselves — only instructors and Canvas administrators can perform this action. If you are a student and want a course hidden from your view, you can hide it instead, which removes it from your dashboard without affecting the course itself.
Key Takeaways
- Instructors archive courses through Settings, then Course Details, then scroll to find the Archive Course button.
- Archiving hides the course from your dashboard and course list but preserves all content, grades, and discussions permanently.
- You can unarchive a course at any time by going to the Courses menu, selecting All Courses, finding the archived course, and clicking Unarchive.
- Students cannot archive courses, but can hide them from the dashboard by clicking the star icon next to the course name.
- Archived courses remain accessible to anyone with the direct link, and instructors can still view them in the All Courses list.
How instructors archive a course on desktop
Log into Canvas and open the course you want to archive. Click the Settings icon (a gear) in the left navigation menu. On the Settings page, click the Course Details tab. Scroll down until you see the Archive Course button near the bottom of the page.
Click Archive Course. Canvas will ask you to confirm. Click the Archive button again to proceed. The course will when ready disappear from your course list and dashboard. You will see a confirmation message that the course has been archived.
After archiving, the course name will no longer appear in your Courses menu or on your dashboard. However, anyone with the direct link to the course can still access it, and you can still view it by going to Courses, then All Courses, where archived courses appear in a separate section.
How to archive a course on the Canvas mobile app
Open the Canvas app and tap the course you want to archive. Tap the three-dot menu icon in the top right corner. Scroll down and tap Settings. Tap Course Details. Scroll down to find the Archive Course option and tap it.
Confirm the action when prompted. The course will be archived and removed from your main course list. On mobile, archived courses are harder to locate, so use a desktop computer if you need to unarchive later.
How to unarchive a course
Go to Courses in the main menu and click All Courses. Scroll through the list or use the search box to find the course you archived. Archived courses usually appear at the bottom of the list or in a separate section marked "Archived Courses."
Click the course name to open it. Click Settings, then Course Details. Scroll down and click Unarchive Course. Confirm when prompted. The course will reappear in your main course list and dashboard within a few minutes.
What happens to course content when you archive
Archiving does not delete anything. All assignments, discussions, grades, files, and student submissions remain exactly as they were. Students who were enrolled in the course can still see their grades if they navigate to the course directly, and you can still read grades or view submissions after archiving.
The course remains searchable by direct URL, so if you share a link to the course with someone, they can still access it even after archiving. Archiving is purely a visibility tool — it cleans up your course list without affecting the course data itself.
Why instructors archive courses instead of deleting them
Archiving preserves a record of the course for your institution and for students who took it. If a student disputes a grade or needs a transcript, you can unarchive the course and pull up their work. Deleting a course removes it permanently and can create problems if you need to reference it later.
Archiving also keeps your course list manageable. If you teach the same course every semester, you might archive the previous term's version while keeping the current one active. This way your dashboard shows only the courses you are currently teaching or taking.
What students can do if they want a course hidden
Students cannot archive courses, but they can hide them from their dashboard. Click the star icon next to the course name in your course list. The star will turn gray, and the course will move to a Hidden Courses section. You can still access the course by going to All Courses, but it will not clutter your main dashboard.
If you want to unhide a course, go to All Courses, find the hidden course, and click the gray star again. The course will return to your main course list.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I archive a course if students are still enrolled?
Yes. Archiving does not remove students from the course or delete their work. They can still view the course and their grades if they navigate to it directly. Archiving only hides it from your dashboard and course menu.
Will students be notified when I archive a course?
No. Canvas does not send a notification to students when a course is archived. If you want students to know the course is ending, you should post an announcement in the course before archiving it.
Can I archive a course that is currently in progress?
Yes, but it is not recommended. If you archive a course while students are still working in it, they may become confused when they cannot find it on their dashboard. Wait until the course is complete and grades are finalized before archiving.
What if I accidentally archived the wrong course?
Go to Courses, then All Courses, find the archived course in the list, open it, go to Settings and Course Details, and click Unarchive Course. The course will return to your main list when ready.
Do archived courses take up storage space in Canvas?
Yes. Archived courses use the same amount of storage as active courses because all content is preserved. If you need to free up storage, you must delete the course instead of archiving it. Deletion is permanent and cannot be undone.