OVERVIEW
This article provides instructions on how to use the course migration tool for Canvas as part of the transition to Canvas Cloud.
BEFORE YOU MIGRATE
1) UNDERSTAND WHICH CONTENT CAN BE MIGRATED
When selecting a course to migrate using the course migration tool (migrate.its.sfu.ca), the following items will or won't automatically transfer to Canvas Cloud.
| Can Migrate |
Unable to Migrate |
|
Course Content
- Announcements
- Assignments, files, modules and pages
- Discussion topics
- Question banks and quizzes
- Rubrics
- Syllabus body
- Most course settings and LTIs
- Calendar events
|
Student work
- Assignment submissions
- Quiz submissions and results
- Discussion replies (discussion topics will migrate, but replies do not)
- Grades
Enrolment-related data
- Course users and roles
- Collaborations and sections
- Conferences
- Groups and group sets
Other
- Feature option settings
- LTI secrets and keys
- Location details on calendar events
|
REMINDER ABOUT PROFILE DATA
Profile data cannot be migrated automatically. If you wish to keep any profile data, you will need to manually re-add the profile data on Canvas Cloud. This includes: ePortfolio, biography, profile files, profile photo, inbox messages.
2) DETERMINE IF YOUR COURSE IS APPROPRIATE FOR MIGRATING
| Migrate to Canvas Cloud |
Do Not Migrate (Move or Leave as-is) |
- Courses that contain content you wish to keep and reuse for a future iteration of the course
- Courses that are currently running and have an end date beyond January 2026
|
- Courses used only for storage, record keeping or backup
- Courses used for research or containing research data
- Courses that contain content you no longer need
- Sandbox and test courses
Tip: Use Microsoft 365 tools (OneDrive, SharePoint, Teams) for stronger file protection and recovery than Canvas.
|
NOTE: Provided above are some general guidelines. Instructors are the experts on what courses and course content they wish to maintain. If your course content is still needed and requires Canvas features, migrate the course to Canvas Cloud.
NON-ACADEMIC COURSE MIGRATION GUIDELINES
If your course is non-academic (training, orientation, activity-type course), visit Non-academic Course Migration Guidance for key details on migrating non-academic courses that are actively running.
HOW TO MIGRATE
STEP 1. Visit the course migration tool at migrate.its.sfu.ca or select the button. You may be asked to sign in with your SFU Computing ID.
COURSE MIGRATION TOOL
STEP 2. Select the Canvas course you wish to migrate to Canvas Cloud on the drop-down menu.
STEP 3. Select Submit Query.
STEP 4. Select Confirm.
STEP 5. Once the progress is complete, a web link will be displayed that directs you to the migrated course on Canvas Cloud.
NOTES
- This migration tool is available to any SFU users.
- Courses available for migration will only appear if you have the 'instructor' role to the course.
- 'Course migration' copies your course from Canvas On-Premise to Canvas Cloud using the built-in 'export' feature on Canvas. Your course on Canvas On-Premise will remain as-is and continues to be accessible to you.
- It is possible that a course can be migrated multiple times and by multiple people if a course has more than one instructor. 'Course migration' simply creates a copy and assigns the person who initiated the migration access to the copied course.
- This process bar should not take more than a few minutes to complete.
NEXT STEPS
- Review the course for any issues and make necessary adjustments.
- In rare cases, links to media files or third-party tools (LTIs) may not transfer correctly and may need to be manually updated.
- Copy or import the content from your migrated course to your official course shell. This allows you to adjust terms, dates and more on assignments and announcements.
- For credit courses, instructors can find their official course shell on the Canvas Cloud Dashboard. Credit course shells from goSFU/eTRACS will now appear automatically on your dashboard—you don’t need to request one.
- Explore New Quizzes. You have the option to convert your quizzes from Classic Quizzes to New Quizzes.
- Please note that once a Classic Quiz converted to a New Quiz, it cannot be reverted.
- Learn more about feature differences between Canvas On-Premise and Canvas Cloud.
NON-ACADEMIC COURSE MIGRATION GUIDELINES
If you're migrating a course that is non-academic (training, orientation, activity-type course), visit Non-academic Course Migration Guidance to help you better understand key considerations and potential impacts.
NEED ADDITIONAL SUPPORT?
For questions about Canvas migration:
For pedagogical or instructional design questions:
For additional assistance or technical support: