Too many people wish to know how to delete courses on Moodle, however, not everyone can delete a course on Moodle. The courses created are usually meant for teachers to carry out the relevant topics to their students, mostly online. However, there comes a time where you might no longer need an already existing course, which was previously visible to the students. A Moodle Administrator, either one person or a group of authorized persons are the only ones who can delete a course on Moodle.
How To Delete Courses On Moodle
When Can A Course Be Deleted?
There must be a rational reason for deleting a Moodle course that already exists, and visible to the students. Some of the common reasons that would lead to a course to be deleted in Moodle include the following;
• The Course is unused: If a course was preliminary created in Moodle, but it is not used anymore, the admin would be compelled to delete the course. The reason for a course not being used anymore is because the course might have been cancelled by the school administration. It could also be because there are two courses that share the same code, which might bring confusion.
• Multiple Courses unintentionally: There could be a possibility that a course has been created more than once accidentally. This will force the admin to delete the additional course that was added inadvertently.
• The course has been terminated: Each course that is created is expected to take certain period in order to be completed. For that, if the course has been completed successfully and it has been backed up, then it will be deleted, since it will not be relevant anymore.
Deleting The Course
Having the reasons for deleting a course in Moodle, you now need to know how to delete the course in the right way. Before you can start the deletion process, you must ensure that the Edit is turned on. This will allow you to edit the courses, and in turn delete them as required. Here is how to delete courses on Moodle:
1. Log In
It is definite that you must log into Moodle in order to have the authorization to delete the courses. It might not be possible to delete the course from Moodle if you are not logged in.
2. Select Action
You will then select Settings, then choose Administration, click on Courses, and then select Add/Edit Courses. This will activate the deletion action, which is the main action performed.
3. Select The Category
You will then click on the category of the course to be deleted. This will split up the category tree that sections the course categories available. When you split the tree, you will then select the course that you need to delete. Alternatively, you can use the text box to search the course that you wish to delete. The text box is usually at the base of the list of the categories.
With the search-course features, you will need to be accurate with the name and/or code of the course that you are searching. Entering the wrong code or name can make you delete the wrong course. For that, the most recommended function is using the category list, then selecting the course that you wish to delete.
4. Perform The Action
Once you have highlighted or accurately searched, you will then need to click the Delete function. Having selected the course, you will then click on the X button, which will delete the course. The X is found in the Edit Column, this is under the Course Categories.
5. After Deletion
When you have clicked the X button to authorize the deletion process, the Delete section will load. The page will ask the action to take on the Content left. This will happen if there are other courses in the category.
However, if there is no any other course left, then the page will indicate that the category is empty. If there are courses left in the category, you can move them to a different category, or you can delete them altogether. If you need to move the remaining courses to another Category, then you will simply select the category under the Move Into section, then click on Delete to perform the action.
Multiple Deletion
You might need to delete several courses at the same time from a certain category. To successfully delete multiple courses, here is how you will do it:
1. Create a Temp Category
You will first off create a new, temporary category that you will use to group the given courses to be deleted. You can then give the group your name, different from the existing categories.
2. Move The Courses
You will then select the multiple courses that you need to delete and move them to the created category.
3. Delete
After you have selected and moved the specific courses to be deleted to the newly created category, you will now need to delete them. Under the multiple course deletion, it is much easier, whereby, you will simply delete the category entirely.
Once you have selected the category you will click on Delete All. However, it should be noted that the multiple deletion, via the Delete All is permanent and it cannot be reversed. For that, always ensure you have selected and moved the right course to the temporary category, for the sake of avoiding accidental deletion.
Conclusion
When performing the deletion action, it is usually restricted to the administrator, or the creator of the course. A normal teacher or the students cannot delete the course. This is mostly because the course created are very vital in the teaching process. For that, they need to be treated with care and avoid accidental deletion. That is why only the administrators are the ones who can delete the given course.
As an Admin, you must also be careful enough when performing the deletion of the courses. First off, you must ensure you know the name and code of the course to be deleted before you commence. You should also ensure that every step is done keenly, especially under the multiple deletion. Having known how to delete courses on Moodle, you will now need to ensure that you have deleted the right course.