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[DEPR]: Legacy instructor dashboard #38432
Description
RFC Start Date
2026-04-23
Target Plan Accepted Date
2026-05-07
Target Transition Unblocked Date
2026-09-23 (pending completion of CCX dashboard MFE page)
Earliest Breaking Changes Unblocked Date
2026-10-23 (pending completion of CCX dashboard MFE page + Willow code cut)
The legacy CCX instructor dash page is currently IFramed in to MFE experience. That means that operators can transition to the MFE now, but we can't break the underlying legacy CCX dashboard code until the MFE is replaced with a native MFE experience.
Earliest Open edX Named Release with Breaking Changes
Verawood - 2026-04
Xylon - 2027-04
Rationale
The new instructor dashboard is nearly in all place. Is is the default experience for all instructor dashboard functionality except CCX the dashboard. Once the CCX dash is complete, the legacy instructor dashboard will be redundant.
Removal
The implementation for the old instructor dashboard view + related code + related tests, related tests will have the DEPR-38432 number tagged in a comment
Divided (cohorted) discussions management. Folded in from #38945, whose RFC decided the enrollment-track and per-topic parts of this feature will not be rebuilt in the MFE. This DEPR removes the legacy dashboard's Discussions section and the staff-only endpoints that exist only to serve it:
- The dashboard section
_section_discussions_managementinlms/djangoapps/instructor/views/instructor_dashboard.pyand its templatelms/templates/instructor/instructor_dashboard_2/discussions_management.html. - The Backbone/Underscore UI under
lms/static/js/discussions_management/(divided_discussions*.js, modelscourse_discussions_settings.js/course_discussions_detail.js), its RequireJS build entrylms/static/js/instructor_dashboard/discussions_management.js, and thedivided-discussions-*.underscoretemplates. - The two staff-only config endpoints that back this section:
course_discussions_settings_handler(^courses/{course_id}/discussions/settings$) anddiscussion_topics(^courses/{course_id}/discussion/topics$) inlms/djangoapps/discussion/views.py(URLs inlms/urls.py). They exist only to serve this UI, so they come out with it.
Cohort-based division is not lost by removing this section - it's also configured through the Pages & Resources discussions settings, which stays.
Not in this DEPR: the backend removal of the dropped capabilities (enrollment-track + per-topic division, plus a data migration) remains in #38945 as a follow-up.
Replacement
Link to the new instructor dashboard:
https://github.com/openedx/frontend-app-instructor-dashboard
Deprecation
All code that was found while working on enabling the instructor dashboard redirection by default was marked with the "DEPR-XXXX" tag so it's easily identifiable.
Additional Info
Users that need to revert to the legacy dashboard can enable the following waffle flag:
instructor.legacy_instructor_dashboard
This DEPR absorbs the dashboard-side scope of #38945 (divided/cohorted-discussions management - the section, its Backbone UI, and the two config endpoints that back it). #38945 stays open for the backend removal of the dropped capabilities (enrollment-track + per-topic division). Cohort-based division stays (configured via Pages & Resources).
Transition Unblocked Tasks
No response
Feature Removal Tasks
No response
Activity
sarina commentedon Apr 23, 2026
Thanks @holaontiveros - be sure you follow the announcement procedures too in https://docs.openedx.org/projects/openedx-proposals/en/latest/processes/oep-0021-proc-deprecation.html
pdpinch commentedon May 5, 2026
It seems like we're seeing breaking changes as 2026-05-05 despite the earliest breaking changes date being 2026-06-25.
sarina commentedon May 5, 2026
Just noting that I've asked @arbrandes to follow up with @pdpinch on this.
feanil commentedon Jun 11, 2026
@holaontiveros can we update the ticket with more up-to-date data? The dash is ready to go? When are we planning on dropping the old code?
feanil commentedon Jun 17, 2026
My understanding is that a CCX related view is currently iframed into the MFE and so we need to port that to APIs + full react frontend and that this feature needs to be backported to Verawood before we can start dropping the legacy instructor dash.
Does that sound right?
diana-villalvazo-wgu commentedon Jun 17, 2026
Hi @feanil CCX is not iframed, for now when you click on the CCX tab it redirects to legacy UI (not MFE), and yeah we still need the work for CCX, but as far as i remember it will land on Willow, we haven't started working on CCX implementation yet. But we can Depr instructor Dash on Willow and CCX on next one? or should be everything on the same release? 🤔
feanil commentedon Jun 18, 2026
Thanks @diana-villalvazo-wgu sounds like we'll need to keep the legacy instructor dash code around through willow so that once we introduce the replacement CCX tab, we can still grant folks a fallback for a release. So we'll want to wait till after Willow is cut to cleanup the legacy instructor dash code. Sound right?
kdmccormick commentedon Jun 25, 2026
I've moved the status back to "Plan Accepted" since the legacy CCX dashboard hasn't been migrated over to the MFE yet.
kdmccormick commentedon Jul 23, 2026
Update: Work was paused but will hopefully resume soon. I've updated the dates with a estimated timeline, which would leave the legacy dashboard in place for one final release (Willow) before it's removed in the next release (Xylon).
As discussed in DEPR WG with @dianakhuang , @pdpinch flagged that there may be routing issues with proctoring and the MFE.
pdpinch commentedon Jul 23, 2026
So far, we have started working on all the issues we have found. We will need some help with reviews and merges.
sarina commentedon Jul 24, 2026
@pdpinch am I understanding properly that your team is helping to fix the issues you're seeing, or are you relying on other teams to prioritize the work?
pdpinch commentedon Jul 24, 2026
We've started working on all the issues we have seen, but we probably need some help from maintainers for testing and review. I tried to clarify my earlier comment.
feanil commentedon Sep 14, 2026
A parity audit of the instructor dashboard MFE (part of the MFE-vs-legacy inventory, #38936) turned up the remaining gaps that block this removal. The two non-CCX ones now have tracking issues:
The other outstanding area is CCX Coach, tracked in epic openedx/frontend-app-instructor-dashboard#19 (Student Grades #96, Layout #97). Note CCX Coach is now native in the MFE (landed Aug-Sep 2026), so the "CCX page is iframed pending a native build" note in the description above is out of date - it's just finishing under #19.
Two legacy capabilities are being dropped rather than rebuilt, so they don't block this: divided/cohorted-discussions management (#38945) and the CSV "register and enroll" new-account creation (the MFE's Auto Enroll covers the need).