Creating a Course Backup

At the end of each semester, you need to create a backup. We recommend that you download your backup to your computer for safekeeping. WebCT provides a tool to make a complete copy of a course that includes all course content, all communications and all student work. The “backup” is the only method available for archiving some course data such as Quiz results and student tracking data. You should perform a backup periodically during development and delivery of the course so that if something “happens” to the course you can very quickly get back the majority of the work to date.

The time required to back up a course depends on both the size of the course and the speed of the server. Large courses may take more than 10 minutes to back up. If backups seem to take a long time, consult with your system administrator.

  1. From the main WebCT course window, click Control Panel.
    Screenshot of the Control Panel

  2. Under Manage Course click Backup Course.

    Screenshot of the Manage Course menu
  3. The Backup Courses screen appears. Note: Evaluate the backup situation. Only 3 backups are allowed to be stored. If more than 3 backups exist already, download (if necessary) the oldest backup file, and then delete it from the WebCT backup listing.

    Screen Shot of Backup Courses screen.
  4. Under Options: Backup Files, click Create backup.
    Screenshot of options Backup Files menu.
  5. The Create Backup screen appears. In the text box, enter a brief description for the backup course. This description will appear in the Backup Filename table. Note: The backup course's filename is created automatically.
    Screenshot of create backup screen.
  6. Click Create. A confirmation screen appears. Note: Despite the fact the backup file has the "zip" extension, it is not a true "zip" file and can only be viewed by "restoring" the course into WebCT. Click Continue.
    Screenshot of successful backup screen.
  7. The Backup Course screen appears with the backup course listed.
    8. Screenshot of backup screen with new backup file.
  8. We are not going to cover the WebCT restore process. If you need to restore your course please contact the WebCT Administrator for assistance.

  9. Next we move onto deleting a course backup