Desire2Learn: Merge your Courses

Owned by Mark Gallimore
Last updated: Jul 05, 2022
3 min read

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Many faculty teach multiple sections of what is essentially the same course.  For their convenience, course sections can be merged within Desire2Learn.  This means that students enrolled in two sections (for example, CAN101A and CAN101B) are within the same D2L course shell, and thus see or interact with the same course content.  Faculty can use filtering tools to easily limit the classlist to one section or the other.  

If your course content is significantly different, merging is inadvisable.

Course space merging should not be confused with copying course content. Copying content between one section space and another, such as from a previous semester's course to an upcoming semester's course, is done by the Instructor using the Import/Export/Copy tool within the Edit Course screen, in a course space. See this tutorial for copying course content.


ITS has a convenient form that allows you to request D2L course merges.  Click the blue button below to access the form.  It will ask you to log in, so it can generate your course list for the upcoming semester.  This video tutorial shows how it works, and is especially useful if you are requesting that more than two course or section spaces be merged into a single space.  

The Master Course is the course that contains the course content.  If you are merging more than two courses, you need to run the merge tool multiple times.  In each case, use the same master course, with the secondary course being any remaining courses you have left to merge.

So for example, say I wish to merge CAN101A, CAN101B, CAN101C, and CAN101D

To do this, I enter requests:

  • Merge CAN101A as the Master, CAN101B as Secondary
  • Merge CAN101A as the Master, CAN101C as Secondary
  • Merge CAN101A as the Master, CAN101D as Secondary

These requests will result in a merged course called "Fall2017_MRG_CAN101A/B/C/D: Course Title."  All students from each of the sections will be enrolled here.

Before you exit the merge tool, be sure to review the merge requests you've entered by verifying the CRN numbers listed under "Pending Merges."  

Warning! Course merges cannot be un-merged! Therefore:

  • Be certain you wish to have a merge performed. If you have any questions about what a D2L course space merge means and does not mean, please contact the Center for Online Learning & Innovation for details.

  • Be certain you are merging the correct courses or sections. Double-check course and section titles, names, and CRNs against your course lists in Self-Service Banner, to verify that you are choosing the correct courses. For example, if you are trying to merge courses in the first summer session, be sure you do not include a course from the second summer session.
D2L Merges are completed during the last week before classes begin, for each semester or summer session. But you can begin building your course content in the course space you chose or will choose as the master course space when requesting the merge. Any course content you have added or updated within the master course space will be immediately available in the merged space, after the merge is complete.