In an email to the campus community on March 2, Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Tricia Serio and Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and CIO Christopher Misra announced that following a year-long exploration Canvas will replace Moodle and Blackboard starting in summer 2023.
 

Dear Colleagues,

Today and into the future, our students deserve a flexible and inclusive learning experience, whether they learn on campus or remotely. The pivot to online learning in spring 2020 demonstrated the critical role of technology as a conduit for learning and the importance of simplifying the teaching and learning experience for our faculty and students. 

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In 2021, the Chancellor’s Flexible Learning Task Force recommended that UMass Amherst converge to a single learning management system (LMS) after more than a decade of operating two systems (Moodle and Blackboard). Students echoed the same idea, advocating for a central learning hub that will enable them to navigate across courses and the increasing number of digital services they use in and outside the classroom. 

Following a year-long exploration, we are pleased to announce that Canvas will become the official learning management system at UMass Amherst. Canvas will replace Moodle and Blackboard starting in summer 2023. The transition is expected to be completed by 2025. 

A robust transition plan with multiple training opportunities is available to help minimize the disruption inherent to large-scale changes such as this one. We appreciate your commitment and engagement in the process. 

For details and updates about the transition to Canvas:
Visit: https://www.umass.edu/provost/lms-transition
Email: canvastransition@umass.edu

Why Canvas

• Canvas is the leading LMS among public research universities, known for its flexibility, ease of use, and mobile capabilities. The move from multiple systems to a single, university-wide LMS will foster collaboration, reduce complexity, and cultivate interconnected digital teaching and learning. 
• A mobile-first platform, Canvas offers students true flexibility in how and where they learn. Multiple personalization options, such as pronoun listings and name pronunciation recording, align with our university’s commitment to making all members feel welcome and included.
• Canvas is a robust and reliable system that integrates easily with other technologies to deliver a seamless experience that centers on the student’s journey at UMass Amherst.  Equally important, Canvas will require fewer resources to support it and thus will be more efficient.  As the university’s single LMS, Canvas will allow the campus to streamline support as well as technical and infrastructure resources.

About the Selection Process

With our students and faculty in mind, the university embarked on a year-long exploration of learning management systems in 2021. The LMS exploration committee consisted of faculty, students, as well as representatives from information technology, and the Provost’s Office.

The committee: led over 25 listening sessions with more than 120 students, faculty and staff; evaluated the technical details of a unified system; considered issues of accessibility and security; and made financial projections to evaluate the affordances of our existing LMS (Blackboard and Moodle). A pilot project with over 200 students was also completed in fall 2021. 

At the end of this exploratory phase, the committee recommended that UMass Amherst select Canvas as the single learning management system, and this recommendation was shared with the faculty senate, the student government association and the graduate student senate for consultation in fall 2022.

From Moodle & Blackboard to Canvas: What to Expect Next

Acknowledging that the transition to Canvas will require time, effort, and commitment from faculty, students, and staff, we have incorporated robust mechanisms of support into the plan.

Canvas offers a robust, multi-year transition plan with modular training & support. Our contract with Canvas includes 24-hour phone and chat support for instructors and students. The transition will take place over two years, starting in summer 2023. Courses will be moved to the new platform with the help of a third-party service that delivers ready-to-teach courses while archiving course content and student data.

Ample training and support will be available, including personalized consultations, synchronous and asynchronous training, and in-person and online workshops. 

By choosing Canvas, UMass Amherst reaffirms its commitment to flexible learning, faculty development, and student success. We thank you for your partnership in the selection process and your engagement as we enter the transition phase of the project. 

Sincerely,

Tricia Serio
Provost and Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Christopher Misra
Vice Chancellor for Information Technology and CIO