Canvas Migration
Migration Timeline
Canvas becomes the official CSULB learning management system on June 15, 2023. After this date, BeachBoard will no longer be available. The timeline below lays out the details for access to course content each semester.
Spring 2023
- May Intersession and Summer 2023 live course shells are released in Canvas (as of March 21, 2023).
- Fall 2023 live course shells are released in Canvas (as of April 6, 2023).
- Fall 2022 BeachBoard course migration is complete (as of April 25, 2023).
- Faculty/Staff are encouraged to get started with Canvas:
- Faculty/Staff are encouraged to review their "Academically-Related" BeachBoard Organizations” if they want to continue using them in Canvas.
- Winter 2023 and Spring 2023 BeachBoard courses will be copied to Canvas during the Summer.
Summer and Fall 2023
Canvas becomes the official CSULB learning management system on June 15, 2023.
- All courses for May Intersession, Summer, and Fall 2023 are in Canvas. BeachBoard is no longer available for instruction (after June 15).
- In early Summer, the migration of all BeachBoard courses from Summer 2021 through Spring 2023 will be completed.
- Faculty/Staff are encouraged to learn more and get acquainted with Canvas.
- Faculty may teach in Canvas and/or BeachBoard on their own or partner with ATS in the Fall Pilot Program.
- In late Fall 2022, Spring 2023 live courses are released in Canvas and BeachBoard to all faculty.
- Migration of Spring 2022 BeachBoard courses to Canvas begins.
- Migration of all CPaCE BeachBoard courses begins.
- Faculty may choose to prepare to teach in BeachBoard and/or Canvas for the Spring 2023 term.
- Fall 2022 BeachBoard courses will migrate to Canvas shortly after the Fall 2022 semester ends.
- Courses are taught on Canvas by a small group of faculty participating in a pilot program.
- Live Fall courses are released in Canvas and BeachBoard to all faculty. Faculty may prepare to teach in Canvas in Fall 2022 if desired.
- Migration of Winter 2022 BeachBoard courses to Canvas completed.
- Migration of Fall 2021 BeachBoard courses to Canvas in progress.
The Migration Process
CSULB is working with K16 Solutions to migrate (copy) BeachBoard courses from Summer 2021 through Spring 2023 semester into Canvas. Migrated (copied) BeachBoard courses are available on the Canvas Dashboard and are labeled with the course/semester dates in which they were taught.
If you have an existing "Academically-Related" BeachBoard Organization and would like to transition it to Canvas, please complete our Manual Organization Request Form.
Migrated courses:
- Include certain content from BeachBoard News, Content, Quizzes, Dropbox, Discussions, and Grade items, but organized differently. Please note these items specifically:
- Content: BeachBoard sub-modules will not be imported.
- Groups: Any assignment that includes Groups will not be imported from BeachBoard. This includes Group Discussions and Group Dropbox.
- Discussions: Topics will be imported, but not Forums. Discussion descriptions will not be available.
- Quizzes: Missing question types include Ordering, Arithmetic, and Multiple Short Answer. These are imported into Canvas as Fill in the Blank questions. Quizzes that were previously generated from the Question Library will also need to be rebuilt.
- Grades: Items will be imported as Assignments.
- Do NOT contain students; students do not have access to your migrated courses.
- Do NOT contain student data including student assignment submissions, grades, discussions, files, or quiz data. Student data from the last six years (Summer 2021 through Spring 2023) will be held separately in an archive and available upon request from ATS. Visit Course Types, Archived BeachBoard Courses for more information.
Use your migrated BeachBoard course in a variety of ways:
- leave it in its original state as a reference/source.
- copy the migrated content into your live Canvas shell in preparation for teaching in the next term (similar to how you would use a Development Course). See below for more tips!
After your "live course shell" has been released in Canvas through the CSULB system, you may begin developing the content to prepare for teaching. If desired, copy content from your migrated courses into your live courses:
- Follow the steps in our Course Migration Job Aid [PDF] to copy your migrated BeachBoard course content into the Canvas live course you will be teaching.
- Follow the guidelines in our Getting Started to Teach in Canvas Checklist [PDF] to ensure that your course contains the recommended, essential elements.
Not seeing your migrated course in Canvas?
If you are not seeing your migrated BeachBoard course in Canvas, please contact us at canvas@csulb.edu.
Please note: Winter 2023 BeachBoard courses will be copied into Canvas in early Summer 2023.
What content will not be migrated?
Migrated courses do not contain student data, such as enrollment information, grades, submitted assignments, and quizzes, etc. However, student data from the last five years will be held separately in an archive and available upon request from ATS. Visit Course Types, Archived BeachBoard Courses for more information.
What BeachBoard tools do not exist in Canvas?
- Checklist
- Intelligent Agents
- Release Conditions – Canvas has a workaround called Prerequisites and Requirements.
Will our grade settings and rubrics in BeachBoard be transferred to Canvas as well?
Unfortunately, grade settings and rubrics in Canvas are different from BeachBoard (D2L) so they will not be copied.
Can faculty request a Canvas "development" course?
Yes. A development course is a "staging" course where you can build and modify your course and then copy it into your live course when released each semester. Complete the Development Course Request Form. Visit Canvas Course Types for a full description of the different types of courses in Canvas.
If we teach on another campus, can we import our Canvas course to CSULB?
Depending on the LMS, you can transfer course materials from another campus to Canvas at CSULB. Please be aware that some course materials and content may not copy over correctly.
- To export your BeachBoard course, please select "Export Brightspace Package" and read How to export course package from D2L.
- To import your BeachBoard to Canvas, please read How do I import content from Desire 2 Learn (D2L) into Canvas?. If you are exporting and importing from Canvas to Canvas, please read How do I export a Canvas course? and How do I import a Canvas course export package?
Will all BeachBoard Organizations be migrated to Canvas?
All "Academically-Related" BeachBoard Organizations” will be migrated over to Canvas. Note there are two types of organizations: Manual and Auto. Auto-orgs are configured to automatically enroll users based on declared degrees daily. Manual organizations will require "teachers" in the org to manually enroll users.
- Migrated organizations will not contain any results or user data
(i.e. surveys/ballots). - If you do not see your organization in Canvas, please contact canvas@csulb.edu.
Do migrated courses have layouts in them?
No, not unless they already had previous BeachBoard templates embedded. All courses from BeachBoard migrate over exactly how they are, with nothing added.
Where can I find my "BeachBoard Migration" courses?
Use our Course Migration Job Aid [PDF] for instructions on how to locate your migrated BeachBoard course content in Canvas. The resource will help guide you on how to copy the content to your live Canvas Live course shell.
Can I request courses to be migrated beyond 2 years?
If you would like to migrate a BeachBoard course that is older than Summer 2021, please email canvas@csulb.edu and include your course(s) details such as course name, number, semester, section, etc.