LMS Class Site Retention Period
Overview
Pepperdine University has adopted a retention period for class sites on its primary learning management system (LMS), Courses (powered by Sakai). Our Courses LMS was first piloted in 2009 and officially adopted in 2011. The LMS is available to all five schools of the University and can facilitate traditional (face-to-face), hybrid/blended/hyflex, or fully online teaching and learning. As of April 28, 2022, we have created over 82,000 class and project sites, consuming over 5.6 TB of storage. Effective July 31, 2022, a five-year retention period for sites in Courses will be initiated. To help our faculty and site managers adjust to this new process, we will implement the retention period in several stages. See the Retention Schedule below.
Benefits
To keep our LMS system running smoothly and promote modern accessibility practices, Pepperdine University will adopt a five-year site retention period. The retention period will also promote best practices in stewardship of University resources, academic records retention, student privacy, and instructional design.
As a reminder to all faculty and staff, Pepperdine University has a web accessibility policy that must be considered when creating, reviewing, importing, or adopting class content or tools. The removal of older LMS content will reduce the likelihood of the reuse of outdated materials, especially those that may not adhere to the most recent accessibility guidelines (WCAG 2.1 guidelines, published June 5, 2018).
Retention Schedule
Class Site Removal
Permanent Deletion Date | Creation Years of Sites for Removal | Site Age At the Time of Planned Deletion |
---|---|---|
July 31, 2022 | 2009-2014 | 8-13 years old |
July 31, 2023 | 2015-2017 | 6-8 years old |
July 31, 2024 | 2018 | 5-6 years old |
July 31, 2025 | 2019 | 5+ years old |
Beginning in 2025, the staggered schedule will be complete and the standard site retention period will be in effect, removing 5-year-old content on an ongoing annual basis each summer.
What Faculty Need to Do
During the first phase of removal, the content is 8-13 years old (2009-2014). Not all professors used Courses during this window of time. Also, given the age of these sites, some of the content may no longer contain information that is relevant to current class offerings. Additionally, after students graduate, their student accounts are disabled and professors will no longer be able to associate academic work held in a class site with a specific student*.
*NOTE: Student accounts that have been deactivated in the University's central network directory after graduation will no longer be visible in Courses. You will not be able to download or view grades or assignments from deactivated student accounts.
Reviewing Old Class Content
Consider the following steps when you review older content on Courses:
- Do you still need it? Is this content still current or relevant to your latest class learning objectives or teaching materials?
- Is it accessible? Are students that may need to use screen readers or other accessibility tools able to use this content?
- Do you already have a copy (or copies!) of it? You likely uploaded the content to the LMS from your computer. Do you have original copies on your computer hard drive or cloud storage? Or maybe you have been importing past class content each semester into your newer class sites, so you have copies there?
Remember, if you already have copies of the information on your computer, devices, cloud storage, or other LMS class sites, then you don't need to spend extra time downloading duplicate copies of older materials.
Retaining Class Site Content
After your assessment of any older class sites, if there is content that is important to retain and you don't have other copies of it already, then it will be important to take steps to download the content or import materials to a new class or project site.
Download Your Older Content
Visit each of the old class sites in the relevant retention period and refer to these instructions for the appropriate tools:
- Resources: Download files
- Gradebook: Export your Gradebook
- Assignments: Download student assignment submissions
- Drop Box: Download files
Remember, you can use the "Sites" menu of Courses to visit sites from specific academic terms. If you have hidden older class sites, you can use the "Membership" tool of your "Home" site to view all sites.
Import Older Content into a New Class or Project Site
It is easy to import content that is still relevant and meets accessibility standards to a current class site.
Don't have a new site yet? Consider creating your own project site. After you create a personal project site, you can import your older class content into this site for later reference or use in future classes.
Again, when you are retaining older content, be sure to evaluate all documents, web links, or other resources to be sure that the content remains relevant to current learners and also adheres to Pepperdine's accessibility and security standards. Update or delete any content that does not meet quality, security, or accessibility standards. For example, old Adobe Flash or Shockwave content should be deleted with a vengeance!
Project Site Removal Period and Extensions (Coming May 2023)
Beginning in 2023, project sites will be added to the retention period.
Class Sites vs. Project Sites
Course sites or “Class” sites are officially created sites intended for academic purposes. The creation of these sites is based on data from our student information system, WaveNet. Our data retention process will initially focus on official class sites. "Project" sites, however, are collaborative sites and are not under consideration for removal in 2022. Any official community member (current student, faculty, or staff) can create a project site and enroll members. Project sites will not be included in the initial retention period. Technology and Learning will work with the TechLearn Faculty Steering Committee and the community to identify project sites under review at that time so that all University employees can act accordingly.
Extensions
Starting in 2023 (eligible class sites 2015-2017), we will provide an online extension request form for continuing doctoral programs only. Any extension will offer one additional year for interested students to download any needed materials before the site is permanently deleted with the next round of removals.
Frequently Asked Questions