Canvas Migration

Canvas became the official Ӱ learning management system on June 15, 2023. From Summer 2022 to Summer 2023, courses were gradually migrated (copied) from BeachBoard to Canvas according to the semester in which they were taught.

Faculty were offered the opportunity to adopt Canvas at any point along this timeline. Some instructors chose to teach in both systems at the same time.

The migration process was completed at the end of the Spring 2023 semester. From that point forward, all courses using a learning management system will use Canvas.

Migrated courses:

  • 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.
  • Include certain content from BeachBoard, but it will be organized differently to fit the Canvas environment.  Please note these items specifically: 
    • Content: BeachBoard sub-modules will not be imported.
    • Groups: Any assignments that include 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 in Canvas.
    • Grades: Items will be imported as Assignments.

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 Ӱ system, you may begin developing the content to prepare for teaching. If desired, copy content from your migrated courses into your live courses:

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  and .

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 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  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 Ӱ?
Depending on the LMS, you can transfer course materials from another campus to Canvas at Ӱ. 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 .
  • To import your BeachBoard to Canvas, please read . If you are exporting and importing from Canvas to Canvas, please read  and  

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?
Check your Canvas Dashboard or Courses list to see all your courses, labeled with the semester in which they were taught. Use our Course Migration Job Aid [PDF] for instructions 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. 

Migration Timeline

The timeline below describes the migration process steps taken each semester during the year of transition.

  • May 22:  Canvas is fully adopted for Summer Session courses.
  • June 2:  The migration of all BeachBoard courses from Summer 2021 through Spring 2023 is complete. Copies of BeachBoard courses from this period can be found in instructors' Canvas Dashboards. 
  • June 15: Canvas becomes the official Ӱ learning management system. BeachBoard is no longer available for instruction.
  • August 17:  Canvas is fully adopted for the Fall semester and beyond.

  • March 21:  May Intersession and Summer 2023 live course shells are released in Canvas. Instructors may begin developing their content in the live shells in preparation for teaching.
  • April 6: Fall 2023 live course shells are released in Canvas. Instructors may begin developing their content in the live shells in preparation for teaching.
  • April 25: Fall 2022 BeachBoard course migration is complete.

  • 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.