Skip to Content
Find An Office

Faculty Development

Summer Course Updates: What to Know Before You Click "Delete"

05.23.2025 | By: CETL

As faculty dig into summer prep, the CETL is here to help you make the most of your time—whether you're refining your course design, updating your syllabus, or diving into Canvas cleanup.

This summer, one of the biggest areas of attention is our Liquid Syllabus template. It’s mobile-friendly, visually engaging, and designed to help you connect with students before Day 1—but it also brings a few new quirks to watch out for.

Getting Started with the Liquid Syllabus

If you're using the Liquid Syllabus this semester, here are a few things to remember:

Broken Image After Course Copy?

We've seen issues where the banner image breaks after a course copy. Why? The image file lives in the original course’s Files, but if you copy only the syllabus page—not the associated files—the link breaks. You have a few options:

  • Re-upload the image in your new course Files and update it on the page.
  • When course copying, choose "Select specific content" and be sure to check both the Syllabus body and Files.
  • After copying, double-check your image is working. If not, a quick re-upload will fix it.
  • If in doubt - CETL can help. 

🔗 Canvas Guide: How to Copy Over Content

 Update Your Sandbox First

Many instructors start with a sandbox course. But here’s the catch: if your sandbox still has an old version of the syllabus (or the wrong image), that’s what will come over during the copy.

Before you copy to your new course:

  • Update your sandbox with the latest content and visuals.
  • Haven’t used a sandbox before? Reach out to CETL—we’ll set one up for you.

Copy-Paste for Consistency (and Sanity)

Have similar content across multiple courses? Feel free to copy and paste instructor bios, policies, or other repeat content between syllabi (except the image). This helps reduce "syllabus fatigue" while keeping your courses aligned.

Submitting to Academic Affairs?

When you're ready to submit your syllabus:

  • Open your Syllabus page in Canvas.
  • Right-click > Print and in the Print window, choose "Save as PDF."
  • Name and save your file for easy upload.

 What To Do If You Accidentally Delete…

Let’s walk through common delete disasters and how to recover—sometimes with just a few clicks.

🔹 Deleted Your Liquid Syllabus Page?

  • Submit a Helpdesk ticket and mention that the Liquid Syllabus was deleted (or overridden by a course copy).
  • We have a short-term back up of courses - it may or may not have the information you are looking for-this requires a ticket to Helpdesk +Keith

The CETL highly recommends completing a course copy prior to updating your liquid syllabus. This prevents the import from erasing your syllabus updates.

🔹 Deleted an Assignment, Quiz, Discussion, or Group?

  • Still can’t recover it? Submit a Helpdesk ticket +Keith.

🔹 Deleted Content from a Page (but not the page)?

  • Restore from Version History:
    • Open the page → Click three dots (⋯) → View Page History
    • Select and restore a previous version.

🔗 Canvas Guide: View Page History

🔹 Want to Start Over Completely?

  • We recommend checking in first. Sometimes a reset is needed, but there may be an easier way.
  • Submit a Helpdesk ticket and tag CETL + Keith. We’ll help you decide.

🤝 Questions? Let’s Connect

When in doubt—especially about course copies, broken images, or deletion recovery—reach out. The Helpdesk can triage and tag the right team members, and CETL is here to help you get set up for a successful semester.

Start smart. Copy your course first. Update with confidence. And keep this post handy.