This article explains how Absorb LMS handles two different ways of removing Courses, Curricula, and Users from active use: inactivating and deleting. Inactivating is a reversible change that hides an object from your Learners while preserving all of its data for reporting and compliance. Deleting removes the object. Use this article to understand what to expect from each action before you apply it, and to decide which option best fits your situation.
Deleted Courses and Users are soft-deleted rather than erased immediately, and can be recovered on request. Restoring deleted content requires assistance from our Support team, who will need identifying information such as the Course Name or ID.
Key Differences Between Inactivating and Deleting
In most cases, inactivating is the safer, reversible choice, while deleting is intended for content or accounts you no longer need to manage. The table below summarizes how the two actions differ across the areas clients ask about most.
| Aspect | When You Inactivate | When You Delete |
| Reversibility | Reversible at any time by returning the object to Active status. | Removes the object from the Admin Experience. Some objects can be recovered on request with help from our Support team. |
| Learner Visibility | Hidden from the Learner Experience, including the Catalog and My Courses. | Removed, so it no longer appears anywhere for Learners. |
| Data and Reporting | Enrollment records, scores, completions, and history are preserved and remain available to Admins. | Associated records may no longer appear in standard Reports. |
| Admin Management | Admins can still view, edit, and re-activate the object. | The object is no longer available to manage in the Admin Experience. |
| Best For | Content or accounts that may return, or that must remain reportable for compliance. | Test, duplicate, or permanently unwanted content and accounts. |
Note: Completions are never revoked. Once a Learner completes a Course, that completion remains on their Transcript, which stays visible even when a Course is Inactive. For more information on awarded certificates, see the Course Certificates article.
Courses and Curricula
Courses and Curricula both use a Status toggle that switches between Active and Inactive, and both can be deleted by Admins with the appropriate permissions. The expected behavior is broadly the same for each.
Inactivating Courses and Curricula
Inactivating is a reversible soft-removal. When a Course or Curriculum is Inactive, it is not visible to Learners in the Learner Experience, with the exception of the Transcript. Its enrollment records, scores, and completion history are preserved, and Admins can continue to view, edit, and re-activate it. Enrollment Rules do not trigger while a Course is Inactive; when it is set back to Active, Automatic Enrollment Rules process immediately.
To inactivate a Course, click the Status toggle when editing it, then Publish or Quick-Publish to save your change. For full steps, see the How To: Inactivate a Course article.
For Curriculum status behavior, see the Overview of Curriculum Settings article.
Deleting Courses and Curricula
Deleting removes a Course or Curriculum from the Admin Experience so it can no longer be managed or enrolled into. Deleting is controlled by a permission that is separate from editing, so an Admin may be able to modify content without being able to delete it. Courses cannot be deleted in bulk through standard LMS functionality; bulk deletion is handled by our Technical Services team for a fee, and your Account Manager can provide details.
Users
Users can be deactivated, which sets them to an Inactive status, or deleted. As with content, deactivating is reversible and preserves the User's records, while deleting removes the account.
Deactivating Users
Deactivating a User sets their status to Inactive. An Inactive User cannot log in to the Learner Experience or the Admin Experience, and cannot be enrolled in new Courses. By default, Inactive Users do not appear in the Users Report; Admins can view them by selecting the Inactive value on the report's Status filter. All of the User's enrollment data, scores, certificates, and history are preserved, and the account can be re-activated at any time. For related steps, see the User Management article.
Deleting Users
Deleting a User removes the account from the Admin Experience. Deleted Users are soft-deleted and can be recovered on request with help from our Support team, who will need identifying information such as the Username or ID.
Deleting a User has downstream effects. Any scheduled Reports created by that User will stop sending and cannot be recovered, so copy their Saved Reports and Saved Layouts to another account first. If the User holds the Reviewer role, check the Observation Checklist report for outstanding reviews, as any in-progress reviews will require the Learner to be re-enrolled and reviewed again.
Users created through a connector or integration sync cannot be deleted in the Admin Experience. To permanently remove them, delete the User in the connected app; otherwise they are re-added on the next sync. For more information, see the Connectors Overview article.
Choosing Between Inactivating and Deleting
The right choice depends on whether you expect the content or account to return and whether you need its data to remain available. The following scenarios offer general guidance.
| Scenario | Recommended Action |
| Staff are leaving temporarily and may return, such as seasonal workers. | Deactivate the User to preserve their data and allow re-activation. |
| Course or Curriculum content is outdated but may be used again. | Inactivate to hide it from Learners while keeping its enrollment history. |
| You must retain historical records for compliance or audit purposes. | Inactivate so the data remains reportable. |
| A test or duplicate Course or Curriculum is no longer needed. | Delete to remove it permanently. |
| A User is provisioned by a Human Resource Information System (HRIS) or other connector integration. | Deactivate in the connected app, since connector-synced Users cannot be deleted in the Admin Experience. |
Permissions Required
Inactivating and deleting are controlled by separate permissions, which lets you allow Admins to manage content and accounts without allowing them to delete. Assign these permissions through Admin roles.
| Action | Permission |
| Inactivate or edit a Course. | Courses > Modify |
| Delete a Course. | Courses > Delete |
| Deactivate or edit a User. | Users > Modify |
| Delete a User. | Users > Delete |
Managing Curricula also requires the corresponding role permissions. For a full breakdown of role permissions, see the Admin Roles & Permissions article.
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