Deleting a Course You No Longer Need

To delete a course in Canvas, go to the course home page, click the Settings icon (gear symbol) in the top right, select "Settings" from the dropdown menu, scroll to the bottom of the page, and click the "Delete this course" button. Canvas will ask you to confirm the deletion. Once you confirm, the course and all its contents — including assignments, grades, and student submissions — are permanently removed and cannot be recovered.

Only course instructors and Canvas administrators can delete a course. If you are a student or teaching assistant without instructor permissions, you will not see the delete option. The delete button appears only in courses you have full control over, not in courses where you have limited access.

Key Takeaways

  • Course deletion is permanent and removes all assignments, grades, student work, and discussion posts with no way to restore them.
  • Only instructors and Canvas administrators have permission to delete a course; students and teaching assistants cannot.
  • Before deleting, read or export any course content you want to keep, since the deletion cannot be undone.
  • If you want to reuse course materials in the future, export the course as a file instead of deleting it outright.

Before You Delete: What Gets Removed

Deleting a course removes everything inside it. This includes all assignments, quizzes, discussion posts, announcements, files, grades, student submissions, and any other content you created or students submitted. Gradebook records tied to that course are also deleted. If you have given feedback on student work or recorded grades, that feedback and those grades disappear.

Students enrolled in the course will no longer see it in their course list. If the course is part of a term or program, removing it does not affect other courses or the student records in your institution's main system — only the Canvas course itself is deleted.

How to Export a Course Before Deleting It

If you want to save course materials to use again later, export the course first. Go to Settings, scroll down, and click "Export this course." Canvas creates a file that contains the course structure, assignments, pages, and files. This file does not include student grades or submissions — only the course design and materials you created.

The export process can take several minutes if your course is large. Canvas sends you an email with a read link when the file is ready. Save this file to your computer. Later, you can import this file into a new Canvas course to rebuild the same structure and materials without having to recreate everything from scratch.

Step-by-Step: Deleting Your Course

Step 1: Log into Canvas and open the course you want to delete.

Step 2: Click the Settings icon (a gear symbol) in the top right corner of the page, next to your profile menu.

Step 3: Click "Settings" from the dropdown menu that appears.

Step 4: Scroll all the way to the bottom of the Settings page. You will see a red button labeled "Delete this course."

Step 5: Click the red "Delete this course" button. A confirmation dialog will appear asking if you are sure.

Step 6: Click "Delete" in the confirmation dialog to complete the deletion. The course is now permanently removed.

What Happens to Student Enrollments

When you delete a course, all student enrollments in that course are removed. Students will no longer see the course listed in their Canvas dashboard or course menu. If students have already downloaded files or taken screenshots of their work, they will still have those copies on their own devices, but they cannot access the course in Canvas anymore.

If you need to remove only certain students from a course without deleting the entire course, you can unenroll them individually through the People section instead. That way, the course and all its content remain available for other students.

If You Cannot Find the Delete Option

If you do not see the "Delete this course" button at the bottom of Settings, you likely do not have instructor or administrator permissions for this course. Check your role in the course by going to People and finding your name in the list. Your role will appear next to your name.

If your role shows as "Teaching Assistant" or "Student," you cannot delete the course. Contact the course instructor or your Canvas administrator and ask them to delete it. If you are the instructor but still do not see the delete button, your institution may have restricted course deletion permissions. Contact your Canvas administrator to request the deletion.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I undo a course deletion?

No. Once you confirm the deletion, the course and all its contents are permanently removed from Canvas. There is no undo option or recovery process. This is why exporting the course before deletion is important if you think you might need the materials again.

Will deleting a course affect my institution's records?

Deleting a Canvas course removes only the course from Canvas. It does not affect your institution's official student records, transcript system, or enrollment database. Those systems are separate from Canvas and are not changed by deleting a course.

What if I only want to hide the course instead of deleting it?

You can hide a course without deleting it. In Settings, look for an option to "Conclude" the course or change its visibility to "Unpublished." This removes it from student view without permanently deleting the content. You can unhide it later if needed.

Can I delete a course if students are still enrolled?

Yes. Canvas does not prevent you from deleting a course with active student enrollments. However, deleting removes all student work and grades, so make sure you have exported or saved any records you need before proceeding.

How long does it take to delete a course?

The deletion is usually when ready. Once you confirm in the dialog box, the course disappears from Canvas right away. If your course is very large with thousands of files or submissions, it may take a few seconds longer, but the process is normally complete within a minute.