If you have a lot of assignments you would like to change dates for, consider requesting to create a course instead of choosing the copy option.
Once you have created a blank course this way, go to the course “settings,” then choose “import course content”, “copy a Canvas course,” and then select a course from a past semester to import.
During this process, you will see the option to “shift dates.” In the field on the left, enter the first day of class of a past semester. The system will give you the first day of the current semester, for instance, “Jan 13, 2020 at 12 am,” which you can adjust if needed (rare).
A few common first days of past semesters:
- Spring 2019 first day: Jan 14, 2019
- Summer 2019 first day: May 13, 2019
- Fall 2019 first day: August 26, 2019
After the change, you can use the course calendar to drag and drop calendar events to make fine adjustments. Having had the dates shifted to the proper term, it is so much easier to make such adjustments if needed.