FERPA Regulations Regarding Merging Courses

Due to FERPA regulations, you will see the following notice before merging (pay close attention to the bolded section):

Confirmation of Educational or Pedagogical Purpose of Canvas Section Merge

Please review the following to ensure you are able to merge the sections. Note: the instructor of record must acknowledge understanding and consent to merge sections.

 

If your students will have occasion to see each other in the same classroom or collaborate (physically or online) with each other for educational or pedagogical reasons related to the course during the semester, the sections can be merged in Canvas. Click Yes to continue and merge sections.

 

If you teach several sections of the same course but the students do not interact with each other for educational or pedagogical reasons related to the course in a classroom or online, the sections cannot be merged in Canvas. Click Cancel to exit.

 

If you have any questions about FERPA and online course-sites that involve more than one enrollment section, please contact the Office of the University Registrar at 814-863-3681 or email registrar@psu.edu.

 

If you have questions about the Merge Course Manager tool please email support staff at LMSsupport@psu.edu.

If your courses are good candidates to be merged, the most important thing is to merge them BEFORE content is added. You can store all content in a Master Course, then import content from the Master Course to the merged course. Remember to merge sections only if they do not have content in it. Your selection under “Create Course Based on” does not mean the content will be moved over. The action of “merging” will create a new blank course, and at the same time disable your original courses/sections.

In addition,

• Courses to be merged cannot have student submissions.
• Courses to be merged cannot be Master Courses or Sandboxes.

The Merge Process

If you wish to merge courses in Canvas, it is highly recommended that you read the important information above before merging.

Step 1

From the Canvas Dashboard, click on Merge Course Manager button in the lower right side of the screen.

Step 2

Type in a New Course Name. It is recommended that you include the course title, semester and sections (and possibly Merged).

Step 3

Next to the Create course based on drop-down box, choose one of the sections to base the course off of. If you’re merging sections 1 and 2, you may choose section 1 as your base course. (Be sure there is nothing in either course, for all content will be wiped out. If content was already created, you are advised to import that content into a Master Course for preservation until the merged course is created.)

Step 4

Click the box next to each section you wish to merge. If you’re merging sections 1 and 2, click the box next to each of those sections.

Step 5

Scroll down and click on Merge Courses

Step 6

A new course will now be available in your All Courses section and possibly on your dashboard.

Note that the original sections are no longer visible. Should you need to unmerge or edit the merge, return to the Merge Course Manager and use the top menu to complete the task.