Requesting Access to Past Canvas Courses

Owned by Nicole Carrobis
Last updated: Nov 20, 2023
2 min read

Note: this new process has been established to maintain FERPA guidelines in protecting student data in those previously taught courses.

If you need to request access to a course you taught in a past semester (for another instructor), follow the steps below:

  1. Create a sandbox by following the steps in this Create a Canvas Sandbox Site with Middleware article.

  2. Once you have a sandbox, you’re able to copy content from the course you need to share by using this Canvas to Canvas Course Import (course copy) article.

  3. Finally, add the instructor(s) you need to into the sandbox by clicking People in the left-hand navigation. These steps can also be found in the Add or Remove Users From your Canvas Courses article.

  4. Click on +People, type in their email address, change the role to Teacher, and then click Next.

  5. The newly added instructor(s) need to Accept Invitation to this new course before they can see it on their Dashboard.

If you need to request access to a course you did not teach from a past semester (for yourself or another instructor), follow the steps below:

  • Contact the Help Desk through the Service Portal, chat, or phone.

  • Let them know you’re requesting access to a previous course for content viewing or copying needs. Provide as much information about the specific course, section, number, and semester. Once the information is gathered, the Help Desk will reroute the ticket to Learning Technology Solutions (LTS).

  • You will need the original instructor to “approve” access to the course. Include that approval with your request by forwarding the email with that approval.

Reaching the Sandbox Limit

There is a maximum of 12 sandboxes that can be requested by individuals through Middleware. If when you request a sandbox through Middleware you get an error saying you’ve reached your maximum, follow the steps below:

  • Contact the Help Desk through the Service Portal, chat, or phone. The Help Desk will reroute the ticket to Learning Technology Solutions (LTS).

  • An LTS staff member will create a sandbox for you once we receive the ticket.

  • During that communication, the LTS staff will also reach out to you through the ticket with a list of the existing sandboxes you have created, and ask if any may be deleted in order to free up available sandbox space. Deleting some of them will make it possible for you to request sandboxes through Middleware again.