Unpublishing a Canvas course removes it from your students' view without deleting it

When you unpublish a Canvas course, the course becomes invisible to students and they lose access to all its content, grades, and assignments. The course itself remains in your Canvas account — nothing is deleted. You can republish it later if you need to bring it back online. Unpublishing is useful when a term ends, you need to make major changes before the next offering, or you want to archive a course temporarily.

The unpublish button is in your course settings, and the process takes about 30 seconds. Canvas does not warn you or ask for confirmation a second time, so make sure you actually want students locked out before you click.

Key Takeaways

  • Unpublishing hides the course from students when ready but keeps all content, grades, and settings intact in your account.
  • You find the unpublish option in Course Settings under the Publish/Unpublish section, not in a menu or toolbar.
  • Students enrolled in an unpublished course cannot see it in their course list, access assignments, or view grades.
  • You can republish the course at any time to bring it back online with all its original content and student data unchanged.

Where to find the unpublish button

Open the course you want to unpublish. In the left navigation menu, click Settings (it appears near the bottom of the menu, below Grades and above Outcomes on most layouts).

On the Settings page, look for the section labeled Publish/Unpublish Course. This section displays the current status of your course — either "Published" or "Unpublished" — and shows a button to change it. If your course is currently published, you will see an Unpublish Course button. Click it.

Canvas will ask you to confirm by typing the course name or code into a text field. Type it exactly as shown, then click the confirmation button. The course is now unpublished.

What happens to students when you unpublish

Students enrolled in the course will no longer see it listed in their Courses menu or dashboard. If they try to navigate directly to the course using a saved link or bookmark, they will see an error message saying they do not have permission to view the course.

All student work — submitted assignments, quiz responses, discussion posts, and grades — remains in the Canvas system and is not deleted. When you republish the course, students will see everything exactly as it was. However, while the course is unpublished, students cannot submit new work, view feedback, or access any course materials.

Republishing a course you unpublished

Go back to Course Settings the same way you did to unpublish. In the Publish/Unpublish section, you will now see an Unpublished status and a Publish Course button. Click it.

Unlike unpublishing, republishing does not require confirmation. The course becomes visible to students when ready. All content, grades, and student submissions are restored exactly as they were before you unpublished it.

Unpublishing versus deleting or archiving

Unpublishing hides the course from students but keeps it in your account. You can turn it back on whenever you want, and all data stays intact. Use this when you plan to run the course again or need a temporary pause.

Deleting a course removes it from Canvas entirely. Your institution may have policies about how long you can keep a course before deletion is required, and some schools archive courses automatically after a set time. Once deleted, the course cannot be recovered, though your school's backup systems may retain a copy for a limited period. Check with your Canvas administrator or IT department before deleting anything you might need later.

Archiving is a feature some institutions offer through their Canvas settings. An archived course is hidden from your active course list but remains in your account under an Archives section. Archiving is different from unpublishing — it is a personal organization tool, not something that affects student access. You can archive a published course, and students will still see it.

When to unpublish instead of leaving a course published

Unpublish a course when a term or semester ends and you do not want students accessing old material. This prevents confusion about which course is current and stops students from submitting work to the wrong term's course.

Unpublish if you are making significant changes — reorganizing modules, rewriting assignments, or updating content — and you want to prevent students from seeing incomplete work. You can unpublish, make your changes, test everything, and then republish when you are ready.

Unpublish if a course was created by mistake or as a duplicate and you need to keep it in your account for record-keeping but do not want it visible to students. This is safer than deleting because you can always bring it back if you discover you need it.

Troubleshooting unpublish problems

If you do not see the Publish/Unpublish section in Course Settings, you may not have the right permission level. Only instructors and course designers with full editing rights can unpublish a course. If you are a teaching assistant or have limited permissions, ask the course owner or your Canvas administrator to unpublish it for you.

If you unpublished a course but students can still see it, check whether the course is set to be visible to students in a different way — for example, through a course code or direct enrollment link. Unpublishing removes it from the course list, but some institutions have additional visibility settings. Contact your Canvas administrator if students should not have access but still do.

If you accidentally unpublished a course and need to bring it back when ready, go to Settings and click Publish Course. There is no waiting period — the course will be visible to students again right away.

Frequently Asked Questions

Will students lose their grades and submissions if I unpublish the course?

No. Unpublishing hides the course from students but does not delete any data. All grades, submissions, discussion posts, and other student work remain in Canvas. When you republish the course, students can see their grades again, and you can still access all their work for grading or review.

Can I unpublish a course in the middle of a semester?

Technically yes, but it will when ready lock students out of all course materials, assignments, and grades. Only unpublish mid-semester if you have a specific reason — for example, if the course is being moved to a different Canvas instance or if there is a serious technical problem. Warn students first if possible.

What is the difference between unpublishing and hiding a course?

Canvas does not have a separate "hide" feature for courses. Unpublishing is the tool that removes a course from student view. Some institutions use course codes or enrollment settings to control visibility, but unpublishing is the standard way to make a course invisible to students.

If I unpublish a course, can I still see it in my account?

Yes. Unpublished courses stay in your Canvas account and appear in your course list (usually marked as "Unpublished"). You can view all the content, grades, and student work whenever you want. Only students lose access — you retain full access as the instructor.

How long can I keep a course unpublished before Canvas deletes it?

Canvas does not automatically delete unpublished courses. However, your institution may have a data retention policy that requires courses to be deleted after a certain number of years. Check with your school's Canvas administrator or IT department about how long courses are kept and whether there are any time limits on unpublished courses.