D2L Course Purge

In order to maintain a high-quality user experience within D2L and in accordance with OGC policy, LSC-Online will purge data for the earliest courses still present in D2L. The purge process will result in the complete deletion of course data.

Purge Schedule

Fall 2021Angel migrations and all 2013 courses
March 2022All 2014 courses
May 16, 2023All 2015 courses


Questions and Answers

I thought LSC-Online already archived old courses each semester. Is a data purge different than a course archive?

Yes, they are two different processes. When a course is archived (at least 13 months after its end date), it no longer appears in the My Courses widget and cannot be accessed by the faculty member. However, the data is still in D2L. Faculty can still copy an archived course's data, and the course can be restored by LSC-Online on request. When a course's data is purged, the data is no longer in D2L. The course is completely deleted from the system and cannot be accessed or restored by LSC-Online or D2L.

What if my department needs information from D2L for a grade dispute?

Grade disputes are typically filed within one year of the end date of a course, which is well before the date a course will be purged. Any data that has not been purged (including archived courses) can still be accessed; however, once a semester has been purged, that data will no longer be retrievable, either by LSC-Online or D2L. Data purges will not occur until at least seven years past the end date of a course, at which time no grade dispute should be relevant.

Exactly what data will be purged?

All data will be purged for each course - including course activities, files, student work, grades, and attendance data. Neither D2L nor LSC-Online will be able to retrieve any data from purged courses.

How can I backup my data so it doesn't get purged?

You have two options for backing up your data. The first is to Create a Sandbox and copy your course components into the sandbox. The second is to Export Course Content to a .zip file. Either option will save as much of your course content as you would like, but neither will save student data. It is not possible to retain student data.

Why do we only keep courses for seven years?

An overabundance of data stored in D2L could cause performance issues. We have consulted with OGC to ensure that our policies comply with both government and LSC-specific data retention policies. Purging older data will help maintain a consistently high-quality user experience within D2L.