2.22 Learning Management System (LMS) Course Retention Policy
I. Purpose
Establish criteria for length of time courses are retained in the College’s Learning Management System (LMS).
Guiding Principles
- To retain course sites and content for a time frame in which instructors and students find adequate and useful.
- To optimize the performance of the LMS.
- To ensure that the LMS storage space is used efficiently.
II. Scope
This policy covers courses contained in the Learning Management System (LMS) managed and maintained by Bucks Online.
III. General
Official learning management system (LMS) courses generated by our student information system (SIS) or any other courses with students enrolled shall be archived from the system on a rolling five-year basis from the end of the term a course is taught. This process will run twice per year. Other manually created learning management system courses, often referred to as resource sites, are subject to permanent and irreversible removal following three years of inactivity.
IV. Procedures
Archiving a course site from the LMS permanently removes it from the LMS system so that it is no longer accessible. The course, and all materials contained within, is automatically removed from a user’s LMS dashboard. This includes all files, grades, assignments, quizzes, surveys, links and anything else associated with the course site that is stored in the LMS database and file system areas, as well as media files provisioned through the LMS to the College’s third-party media streaming platform (i.e., Yuja). Retaining copies of the syllabus, electronic grade book and electronic student work is the sole responsibility of the instructor. Instructors are recommended to make copies when courses are scheduled for archival.
Instructions on how to backup/restore a course site are provided in the Canvas Resources for Instructors course – Exporting and Importing Your Coursework.
Instructors shall be notified via email at least thirty days in advance of any resources site course removal which will provide an opportunity to save any important documents or data to locations outside of the LMS.
Faculty can request the restoration of a course that has been archived by contacting Bucks Online.
V. Approval
President: February 25, 2026
VI. Responsibility
Associate Dean, Bucks Online