This article covers Goodnotes Education With Admin Console features only. Schools Without Admin Console may not have access to these functionalities. To upgrade, contact your institution's IT administrator.
When removing a student from your Goodnotes Organization so they can create their own personal Goodnotes account later, it is important to follow the right steps, especially if they have been using Goodnotes Educations to be part of Lessons and Class Folders.
Before Removal: Essential Backup Steps
1. Complete a Manual Backup Students should create a backup file of their entire library by tapping the Goodnotes Menu in the top-right corner of the Library view > Cloud and Backup > Backup Data. This creates a complete backup (.zip file) that can be saved to cloud storage, Files app, or other locations. This will only backup pesonal documents and not their Shared Notebooks or Lessons.
2. Export Shared Documents and Class Materials Since the student will lose access to all shared documents when switching to a personal Apple Account:
- Students must manually export and then import documents they want to keep. Open Goodnotes, go to the Documents tab, select the documents you want to export, tap Export, select "Goodnotes Document" as the format, and save to Files app or cloud storage.
- Export any important class materials or shared folders they need to retain
3. Export Lessons Students should export any Lessons they're part of as PDFs or in other formats, since Answer Zones answers are not included in Lesson exports. Any Lessons they are participating in will become inaccessible once removed from the School.
Important Data Loss Warning
- Shared documents and synced class materials will be permanently inaccessible when switching to a personal Apple Account
- Their annotations on Lessons and any class-specific content will be lost unless exported beforehand
- No automatic sync exists between school and personal accounts - everything must be manually transferred
After Backup: Removal Process
- Access the Admin Console and locate the student in User Management
- Remove the student from your organization
- Verify they no longer have access to school Class Folders and materials
- Contact support at educationsupport@goodnotes.com to verify that the account is deleted.
Student's Next Steps
Once removed, the student can:
- Create a new personal Goodnotes account with their own Apple Account
- Import their backed-up documents using the manual backup file or exported documents
- Continue using Goodnotes with their personal content
Get Help
Since bulk removal isn't currently supported and the exact removal process varies, contact Goodnotes Education support for specific guidance on your situation.
The key is ensuring all important data is properly backed up and exported before any account changes occur, as there's no way to recover shared school content once the student is removed from the organization.