How to shift all your course dates to a new semester in Canvas
Short answer: when you copy the course, go to Settings → Import Course Content and tick Adjust events and due dates. If you already copied it, use Assignments → ⋮ Options → Edit Assignment Dates → Batch Edit. Or open Course++ in the copied course and type: “Every due date here is from last semester. Shift them all to the term that starts Monday, January 11, 2027, keeping each on the same weekday.”
The problem
You copied last fall’s course, and every date came along with it.
The copy keeps old dates unless you ask Canvas to shift them during the import. If you skipped that box, or the shift failed, you are left fixing a long list.
dates from last termdays counted by hand
The fix
Give Course++ the new start date. It moves every date.
It works out each new due, available-from and until date and changes it. It checks that Canvas saved each one.
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Prompts you can copy
Open your Canvas course, open Course++ beside it, and paste one of these. Change the names and numbers to match your course.
Every due date in this course is from last semester. Shift them all to the term that starts Monday, January 11, 2027, keeping each one on the same weekday.
After a copy that left the old dates in place.Move every due date, available-from date and until date in this course forward 15 weeks, so nothing locks before it’s due.
When the new term is a set number of weeks later.This copy has no dates. Give each item in Weeks 1–4 a due date at 11:59 pm, starting the week of January 11, 2027. Readings on Tuesdays, labs on Thursdays.
When the copy removed the dates instead of shifting them.List every assignment, quiz and discussion whose due date is before January 11, 2027, or has no due date. Don’t change anything.
A read-only check, to run before and after.
How to shift course dates in Canvas by hand
- In the new course, click Settings, then Import Course Content.
- Set Content Type to Copy a Canvas Course and choose the old course.
- Tick Adjust events and due dates and choose Shift dates.
- Enter the old course’s start and end dates on the left and the new term’s on the right, To move a weekday, click Substitution. Then click Add to Import Queue.
- Already copied? Click Assignments, then the Options icon (three dots) and Edit Assignment Dates.
- Tick the items, click Batch Edit, choose Shift Dates, enter a number of days, and click Ok. Then click Save.
Good to know
- The shift only runs during the import. Importing again overwrites the copied items, edits and all, so fix a finished copy in place.
- Canvas spreads dates across the new term. A different term length, or a break, can land an item on a holiday. Check week by week.
- Course++ starts after the copy. It can’t copy a course, but it can fix the dates in one, and its History can undo most date changes. Announcements and events: see move announcement and calendar dates.
Questions teachers ask
Can Canvas change all the dates when I copy a course?
Yes. On the import screen, tick Adjust events and due dates and enter the old and new start and end dates. Canvas keeps each item on its weekday. If you leave the box unticked, the old dates stay.
How do I fix dates after I already copied a course in Canvas?
Use Edit Assignment Dates with Batch Edit to shift items by a number of days. Or ask Course++ to move everything to the new term’s start date, then check the result.
Can Course++ copy my course to a new term?
No. Canvas does the copying. Course++ works inside the copy and fixes the dates, links and announcements.
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Canvas steps checked against Instructure’s own Canvas guides in October 2026. Canvas changes its screens from time to time, and schools turn features on and off, so a button may be named a little differently in yours.