Learning Management System (LMS) Course Site Retention Policy

Revision: February 2024

To define how long courses contained in the College’s Learning Management System (LMS) will be retained.

• To retain course sites and content for a period of time which instructors and students find adequate and useful.
• To optimize the performance of the LMS.
• To ensure that the storage space is used efficiently and to minimize the financial and technical impact of constantly increasing disk storage.

This policy covers courses contained in the Learning Management System(s) managed and maintained by Information Technology Services (ITS).

ITS will retain LMS courses on a rolling five (5) year basis from the end of the term a course is taught. Instructors may request that a course be exempt from deletion. The Director of Learning Design and Digital Innovation handles exemptions on a case-by-case basis. Conversely, an instructor may request that a course be deleted sooner than five (5) years from the end of a course.

Deleting a course site from the LMS permanently removes it from the LMS system so that it is no longer accessible. The link to the site is automatically removed from a user’s course list and all materials stored in the course site are deleted. This includes all files, grades, assignments, quizzes, surveys, links and anything else associated with the course site that is stored in the LMS database and file system areas, as well as media files provisioned through the LMS to the College’s third-party media streaming platform (i.e., Panopto). Retaining copies of the syllabus, electronic grade book and electronic student work is the sole responsibility of the instructor. Instructors should always make copies of student work and the grade book prior to removal of material from the course. In addition, instructors are recommended to make copies when courses are scheduled for deletion by ITS. ITS will not automatically backup any course prior to deletion. Backups and copies of course materials need to be secured and handled in accordance with Union College’s Data Classification policy (https://www.union.edu/information-technology-services/policies/data-classification-policy).

Instructions on how to make copies of the grade book, as well as how to backup/restore a course site are provided in the ITS Help Desk Knowledge Base (https://helpdesk.union.edu) under Learning Design and Digital Innovation Support > Nexus Course Support

Information Technology Services, the Liaison Committee for Academic Computing and Technology, and other appropriate departments as deemed necessary by the Director of Learning Design and Digital Innovation shall review this policy. This review will occur at least annually and at other times as needed, and faculty shall be notified of any resultant changes.

• Learning Management System (LMS) Course Site Retention Policy (pdf)