Archiving a course in Canvas removes it from your active course list and stores it separately so you can still access it later
When you archive a course in Canvas, the course moves out of your main dashboard and into an archive section. You keep full access to all the course content, grades, and materials—nothing is deleted. Archiving is useful when a term ends, a course is no longer active, or you want to declutter your course list without losing the record. The process takes about one minute and can be reversed if you need to unarchive the course later.
Canvas treats archiving differently depending on whether you are a teacher, teaching assistant, or student. Teachers and teaching assistants can archive courses they instruct. Students cannot archive courses themselves, but archived courses still appear in their view if the teacher archived them. This guide covers the teacher and teaching assistant process.
Key Takeaways
- Archiving a course hides it from your main dashboard but keeps all content, grades, and files intact and accessible.
- Only teachers and teaching assistants can archive a course; students cannot initiate archiving.
- You archive a course through the course settings menu, which you reach from the course home page.
- Archived courses can be unarchived at any time using the same settings menu if you need to restore them to your active list.
- Archiving does not affect student records, grades, or any data—it is purely a visibility and organization tool for instructors.
How to find the course archive option
Start by opening the course you want to archive. On the course home page, look for the gear icon or settings link, usually located in the top right corner of the page. Click it to open the course menu. You should see a list of options including "Settings" near the bottom. Click "Settings" to enter the course settings page.
Once you are in Settings, scroll down until you see a section labeled "Course State" or similar language about the course status. This is where the archive option lives. The exact wording and position can vary slightly depending on your Canvas version, but it is always in the Settings page for the course.
The steps to archive your course
In the Course State section of Settings, you will see a dropdown menu or button that says something like "Current" or "Active." Click this dropdown to reveal your options. One of the choices will be "Archived." Select it.
Canvas will ask you to confirm the action. Read the confirmation message to make sure you understand what will happen—usually it will say something like "This course will be archived and will no longer appear in your course list." Click the button to confirm. The page will refresh, and your course is now archived.
After archiving, go back to your Canvas dashboard. The course should no longer appear in your main course list. If you want to verify it worked, look for a way to view archived courses—many Canvas instances have a separate section or filter for archived courses on the dashboard.
Where archived courses appear and how to find them
Archived courses do not vanish from Canvas entirely. They move to a separate view. On your dashboard, look for a filter or link that says "Archived Courses" or "Show Archived." Some Canvas setups display archived courses in a collapsed section at the bottom of your course list. Others require you to click a specific link or use a filter menu to see them.
If you cannot locate the archived courses section, check your Canvas account settings or dashboard preferences. You may be able to toggle the visibility of archived courses on or off. The exact location depends on your institution's Canvas configuration, so if you are unsure, contact your school's Canvas support team or check their Canvas help documentation.
How to unarchive a course if you change your mind
Archiving is not permanent. If you need to restore a course to your active list, find it in your archived courses section. Open the course, go to Settings again, and locate the Course State section. Click the dropdown and select "Current" or "Active" instead of "Archived." Confirm the change, and the course will reappear in your main course list.
Unarchiving takes the same amount of time as archiving and restores the course to full visibility without affecting any content, grades, or student data. You can archive and unarchive courses as many times as you need.
What happens to student access when you archive a course
When you archive a course, students enrolled in that course can still see it and access all its content. The course may appear differently in their view—sometimes in a separate "Archived" section—but they retain full access to grades, assignments, discussions, and files. Archiving does not lock students out or hide their grades from them.
If you want to prevent students from accessing a course, archiving is not the right tool. Instead, you would need to use course access restrictions or remove students from the course entirely. Archiving is purely for instructor organization and does not change student permissions or visibility.
Reasons to archive courses and best practices
Most teachers archive courses at the end of a term or academic year to keep their dashboard clean and focused on current courses. A cluttered course list makes it harder to find the class you are teaching right now. Archiving past courses solves this without losing access to old materials, grade records, or student data.
Some teachers archive courses they are no longer teaching but may need to reference later—for example, a course you taught last year but might teach again. Archiving keeps it out of the way while preserving everything you built. You can unarchive it when you teach the course again and pick up where you left off.
A best practice is to archive courses only after the term is completely finished and you have submitted final grades. This prevents accidental archiving of an active course and ensures all grading is complete before you move the course out of your main view.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I archive a course if students are still enrolled?
Yes. Archiving does not remove students from the course or prevent them from seeing it. Students remain enrolled and can still view all course content and their grades. Archiving is a tool for instructor organization, not for managing student access.
Will archiving delete any course content or grades?
No. Archiving preserves everything—assignments, discussions, files, student submissions, and grades all remain intact and accessible. You and your students can still view and read anything in the course after it is archived.
What if I cannot find the archive option in Settings?
The Course State section may be in a different location depending on your Canvas version or your school's setup. Scroll through the entire Settings page to find it. If it is not there, contact your institution's Canvas administrator—they may have disabled archiving or placed it in a custom location.
Can students archive courses themselves?
No. Only teachers and teaching assistants can archive courses. Students cannot initiate archiving, though they can still see and use archived courses if an instructor archived them. If a student wants a course hidden from their view, they would need to contact the instructor or use Canvas's course favoriting or filtering features instead.
How do I find an archived course if I forget which one I archived?
Look for the "Archived Courses" section on your dashboard or use a filter to show archived courses. If your Canvas setup does not display archived courses by default, check your dashboard settings or preferences. You can also search for the course by name using Canvas's search function, which usually includes archived courses in results.