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UPDATE: We are now following VCC's retention policy that requires academic course shells to be kept for a minimum 2 YEAR period, after which they can be deleted. We are no longer using the process mentioned below.
You may be wondering whether you should ARCHIVE one of your old course shells or DELETE it. There are a few things to consider. Some examples are provided at the bottom of this article and instructions for archiving or deleting can be found in the Related Articles section of this page.
First, you should be the OWNER of the course shell to request either deletion or archive. If you are not the owner and all you're wanting is to remove it from your My Courses list, then you should unenrol from the course.
Here are some differences between a course ARCHIVE and a course DELETION.
Course ARCHIVE
- "zipped" backup file of course is created before the course is removed
- backup file takes up less space on the Moodle server
- the backup file is easily accessible and restorable by eLearning Support staff for one year
- backup file is removed after one year
Course DELETE
- course shell removed from Moodle completely
- frees up all of the previously used space
- course shell is recoverable for a short time (days)
Here are some examples that may help you decide which is best:
- The course is finished, students no longer require access, and there are no student records or logs that may need to be accessed. DELETE.
- The course has finished within the last year, students no longer require access, and the course holds students online exam results or other important assignment submissions and grades. ARCHIVE
- The course is finished more than a year ago and students no longer require access. DELETE