Canvas - How to Export and Backup Your Canvas Course Data

Why You Should Backup Your Course Data

While Canvas has extensive backup processes built in, you may not have access to that data during a major outage or security incident.

For example, Canvas was briefly unavailable in May 2026 due to a significant outage. While this interrupted scheduled final exams, it also prevented instructors from accessing their current grades, and prevented instructors from communicating with students through Canvas.

You may not need to backup all data frequently and you may not need to backup certain data at all. This guide explains how long it should take to backup each element, so you can choose what works best for your course, or your instructional mode. Use this information to create a backup plan that suits your schedule and meets your needs as an instructor.

Each type of Canvas course data listed below must be backed up separately.

Save Backup Files to OneDrive

When downloading and backing up course data, use your UW-Superior OneDrive, because it has generous storage limits and is secure. To open OneDrive in a browser and upload a file:

1. Visit uwsuper-my.sharepoint.com.
2. Sign in with your UW-Superior credentials.
3. Click the ‌+ Create or upload button and select Files upload.
4. Locate the file you downloaded on your device, select it, and click Open.
5. Confirm the file was successfully uploaded to OneDrive.

How to Back Up Your Canvas Course Data

Download Grades

You can export scores from the Gradebook and download them to your computer as a CSV file. For step-by-step directions and some notes to keep in mind, visit this guide: How do I export grades in the Gradebook?.

• Estimated Time: Five minutes per course.
• Storage Needs: Downloaded gradebook CSV files are small and require little storage space.
• Recommended Frequency Download your grades at least after grading your midterm and again after you’ve submitted your final grades in E-Hive. Consider downloading your updated grades each time you make significant changes to the gradebook.

Export Course Content

You can download a structured copy of published course content, including pages, assignments, modules, and files. Published discussions and quizzes will be exported, but only include their activity descriptions, not student grades, submissions, or discussion replies associated with those activities.

Consider this option if you would like offline access to course materials during an extended Canvas outage or other disruption.

For more information, read How do I view course content offline as an HTML file as an instructor?.

• Estimated Time: Five to 10 minutes per course.
• Storage Needs:
  • Save exported files to OneDrive. To keep files organized, use a consistent folder structure such as 2026 Fall, 2027 Spring, or 2027 Summer, and create subfolders for individual courses as needed.
  • Embed audio and video in your course using Kaltura “My Media” to reduce the size of your downloaded course content. Like YouTube videos, Kaltura videos are stored outside of Canvas, and won’t impact the size of your course content.
• Recommended Frequency: Download a backup of your course design after completing any significant redesign.

Is this the same as the Canvas Export tool?

No. While the Export Course Content button on the "Modules" page the and Export Course Content button on the "Settings" page are similar, they will download two different files.

Export from the "Modules" page if you'd like to be able to use the downloaded content outside of Canvas.

Export from the "Settings" page to backup your course design or move it to another Canvas system. This file is not designed for reading outside Canvas. Student grades, submissions, and course activity are not included in the export.

Export Quiz Content

Quizzes often represent a significant investment of time and may be among the most difficult course materials to recreate. Canvas allows both Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes to be exported as QTI files for backup purposes. For more information, visit How do I export quiz content from a course? and How do I export a New Quiz from a course?.

• Estimated Time: Five to 15 minutes per quiz.
• Storage Needs: The size of the QTI file will vary depending on whether your quiz includes media like images, audio, or video. Text-based quizzes will require little storage space.
• Recommended Frequency: Five to 15 minutes per quiz.

Convert Your QTI File into a Word Document

Using the help of a secure AI tool like Copilot, QTI files can also be converted into Word documents, providing a readable version that may be useful during an extended outage or when preparing paper-based assessments. Remember to upload your QTI file and enter a specific prompt, like this:

Convert this attached QTI file into a Word document. Use numbered lists for the questions, letters for the multiple-choice answers, and mark the correct answers. Remove HTML tags.

Check the resulting Word document for errors and review every question carefully before distributing it to students. Questions with images may not be converted correctly. Also, keep in mind accessibility requirements when distributing documents.

Download Rubrics

Enhanced Rubrics can be exported as CSV files, providing a readable backup of rubric criteria, ratings, and point values. Save rubrics that would be difficult to recreate or that are reused across multiple courses. To download a rubric from your Canvas course:

1. Click Rubrics in your course Navigation menu.
2. Select the checkbox next to the listed rubric you want to download.
3. Click the Download Selected Rubrics button at the bottom of your Canvas window.

You can select multiple rubrics at once. However, if you select multiple rubrics, Canvas will combine all selected rubrics into one downloaded CSV file. This can make specific rubrics included in the download more difficult to locate and use later.

• Estimated Time: One to five minutes per rubric.
• Storage Needs: Export rubrics one at a time and save the files to OneDrive. Consider renaming each file to match the rubric name and storing it in a course-specific folder, such as 2026 Fall > IDS 702 > Rubrics.
• Recommended Frequency: Export new rubrics or after you significantly update one. Prioritize complex rubrics and rubrics used in multiple courses. Simple rubrics specific to a single course may not need to be backed up.

Save Important Announcements

Announcements often contain instructor guidance, course updates, assignment clarifications, and communication templates that may be useful during an extended Canvas outage. Consider saving any announcements that would be difficult to recreate or that are reused from term to term.

Unfortunately, announcements cannot be downloaded easily. Copy the content of important announcements into a Word document and save it to OneDrive. Consider creating a folder named “Announcements” within each course folder and grouping related announcements into a single document.

• Estimated Time: One to two minutes per announcement.
• Storage Needs: Announcements should take up little storage space.
• Recommended Frequency: Prioritize announcements that contain recurring instructions, exam information, course policies, or other information not available elsewhere in the course.

Need Help?

Canvas Support is available 24/7 via the Help menu in Canvas. We recommend the chat option, which saves a log of your transcript for you to reference later.

If you need to consult about the best options for you, please email the UW-Superior Canvas Team.