This guide walks you through how to copy your previous course into a new Brightspace shell and properly re-establish your Follett Willo course materials for the upcoming term.
Course Copying Notice
Course Copying Reminder:
If the prior term’s course was not paired with the Follett Willo Digital Delivery tool,
publisher courseware items, links, assignments, and eBook materials should not be
copied into the new course shell. These materials must be added fresh during the initial Willo-paired term.
Copying Forward:
Publisher content may be copied into future terms only when the same materials (publisher, ISBN,
author, edition) remain unchanged. Please confirm details with your publisher representative before
copying publisher content forward.
Why This Matters:
Copying publisher content from a course that was not Willo-paired, or from a course with updated
materials, may lead to access inconsistencies or activation issues for students.
Step 1. Copy Your Previous Course Content
Copy your previous course content into your new course shell.
- Go to the course offering you want to copy into (destination course).
- From the drop-down menu, click Course Tools > Course Admin.
- Under Site Resources, select Import/Export/Copy Components.
- Select Copy Components from Another Org Unit.
- In the Search Course Offering box, type the course offering you are copying from.
- Select the radio button next to the desired course and click Add Selected.
- If copying the entire course, click Copy All Components.
- If copying only certain components, click Select Components and choose items.
- After the copy completes, you’ll see a green checkmark and can begin editing your course.
🛈 Coordinator Note — Instructor Action Required for Step 2
Course Coordinators and LMS Administrators may complete all course preparation steps leading up to Step 2. However, Step 2 must be completed by the individual Instructor assigned to the course section.
The Step 2 action—renewing the Follett Willo course link and activating the publisher courseware— requires the Instructor’s own LMS authentication. Even if an LMS Administrator can impersonate or log in as an Instructor, this does not create the correct instructor-of-record pairing for Willo or for the publisher’s system.
For the connection to initialize correctly, the Instructor must personally launch the Publisher Course Materials link from their own LMS account. This ensures:
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accurate Instructor identity and permissions
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proper course initialization
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working grade sync (when applicable)
-
clean access paths for students
For these reasons, Course Coordinators and LMS Administrators may prepare course shells and copy content, but the assigned Instructor must complete Step 2 within their own LMS course.
Step 2. Renew Your Follett Willo Link & Activate Publisher Courseware
Once your course content has been copied, your next step is to establish a fresh Follett Willo publisher course link connection for the new semester or term.
Navigate to your course in the LMS and click the Publisher Course Materials link added in your Modules or course content area.
This action will take you to the Initialized Course, opening the publisher’s website and either prompting you to sign in or taking you directly into your course on the publisher side.
Follow and complete any additional pairing steps required by the publisher if prompted.
This step is required to complete the courseware pairing process and ensure your students can access their materials.
Step 3. Selecting Your Term
When you copy a prior-term course into your new term, Willo checks whether the digital materials adopted for the new term match what was used previously.
Scenario A — The materials match
If the adopted digital material for the new term is the same as the material used in the course you copied, you can use the same publisher links you copied from a prior term.
Action:
Select the copied publisher link to cross over to your publisher account and complete setup with your publisher as instructed per LMS / Publisher pairing guide HERE.
Scenario B — The materials don’t match (Courseware Mismatch)
🚫 STOP — If You See This Screen
A Courseware Mismatch requires action. You must choose one of the three options shown.
If the publisher links you copied over do not match the new term’s adopted digital material, you’ll see a Courseware Mismatch screen.
This requires you to choose how you want the course to be set up.
Below the mismatched materials, you’ll see three options. Each option changes how your course will behave for students. Pick the one that matches your intent for the term.
OPTION 1 — Use Adopted Courseware
Choose this if you want your course aligned with the officially adopted materials for the new term.
Select Use Adopted Courseware
Click Continue
Follow the prompts to remove outdated publisher links and complete setup with your publisher.
This ensures students see only the correct, bookstore-approved materials.
OPTION 2 — Use Courseware Linked
Choose this if you intend to continue using the exact materials you copied over, even if they differ from the official adoption.
However, you must contact your bookstore team so they can correct the adoption record.
NOTE: Students will not receive correct access unless adoption and courseware links in course match.
OPTION 3 — Use Both
Choose this ONLY if you intentionally need to provide access to BOTH sets of materials in your course.
This option keeps:
the new term’s adopted digital material, AND
the copied-over linked courseware
Both will remain visible to students.
When to use this option
Use this sparingly. It's appropriate when:
You are teaching multiple texts or platforms in the same course
Important reminders
Students will see two sets of digital materials, which may cause confusion if not clearly labeled.
If both require payment, students may assume they must purchase both unless you specify otherwise.
Communicate in your syllabus which materials are required vs. optional.
Important: If you are using publisher courseware, you must complete activation by signing in to the publisher portal and finalizing the pairing process.
👉 Click here to access Part 3 — Select Your Publisher for publisher-specific pairing guides
Additional Support
If you need assistance or encounter issues during setup:
Submit a support request to the Follett Willo Support Team.
Contact your Publisher Representative for courseware-specific pairing or content questions.
Refer to your publisher’s instructor resources or training center for additional documentation and best practices.