Panopto Cleanup: Details, Timeline, and Actions Required
04/29/2025
Dear SLU Community Members,
As we announced on March 28, the University will soon see significant changes to Panopto (SLU’s lecture capture software). These changes include new storage limits, which require a significant reduction in stored recordings.
The content in this message is for individuals who use (or have previously used) Panopto to record course-related videos, meetings, and/or events. If you don’t use Panopto, you may delete this email.
This summer, we will initiate a process to delete all Panopto recordings that have not been viewed in the last 24 months. If you wish to preserve videos that have not been viewed in the last 24 months, you must take action to prevent their deletion.
Action Needed at this Time
Determine if you wish to preserve Panopto recordings that have not been viewed in the last 24 months.
- If you do not wish to preserve these recordings: you do not need to take any action. The automatic process we initiate on June 1 will move those recordings to the Recycle Bin for 90 days. They will be permanently deleted on Saturday, Aug. 30.
- If you do wish to preserve some/all of these recordings: you must take action to preserve those recordings. Please continue reading for details and timeline.
Key Information and Timeline
By Saturday, May 31, preserve recordings you do not want deleted (if applicable).
- Focus: recordings that have not been viewed in the past 24 months. (Recordings viewed in courses within the last 24 months do not require action at this time.)
- Actions: Archive or Export the recordings. (Instructions may be found on the Resources page of the Panopto Cleanup Project website.)
- You must manage/preserve any recordings you do not want to be deleted. ITS is not able to do this work for you.
- Please note: it is much easier to manage Panopto recordings prior to their deletion because you can view them in their folder structure. Once recordings are deleted and moved to the Recycle Bin, they only appear as a list of recordings.
On Monday, June 1, Preliminary Deletion of all recordings not viewed in the last 24 months and not stored in the Archive.
- Deleted recordings will go to your Panopto Recycle Bin for 90 days.
- During this 90-day period, you will be able to restore recordings. However, the Recycle Bin only shows recordings in a list (not in their original folders), so it is easier to navigate and preserve recordings before they are moved to the Recycle Bin.
- From June 1-August 29, you will be able to restore deleted recordings. During this time, we also encourage you to plan for the future by engaging in other cleanup of Panopto files (even those viewed within the last 24 months). If you know there are things you can Delete or wish to Archive, please consider taking those actions now. The more space we free up, the better.
On Saturday, Aug. 30: Permanent Deletion of recordings remaining in the Recycle Bin.
- All recordings from June 1 that remain in the Recycle Bin will be permanently deleted. They are not recoverable after this point.
Next fall we will need to take additional steps to further reduce our stored content in Panopto. This will include implementing a regular recording deletion process similar to the one in place before we moved to Panopto.
We encourage you to carefully review the Panopto Cleanup Project website. Key sections include: a Timeline for the cleanup; a summary of the Action Items you need to take now; a set of Resources to help you manage your recordings; and a set of FAQs for common questions.
As we said before, we recognize the timing is not ideal, since many faculty will be off contract starting in mid-May. However, our current contract with Panopto requires us to significantly reduce stored content in the next few months. In the current financial climate, the University simply does not have the option of waiting until next academic year to begin this work.
We will send additional communications, throughout the summer and increasingly as we approach the permanent deletion deadline.
If you have questions about managing your Panopto content, or the information in this message, please email facsupport@slu.edu to create a ticket with the right ITS support team and someone will assist you.
Sincerely,
Debie Lohe, Ph.D., Associate Provost for Teaching and Learning
Mike Holmes, D.T., Director of Academic Applications, ITS