KU is Moving to Canvas

KU has embarked on a multi-year journey to enhance how Jayhawks teach and learn by migrating our campuswide learning management system from Blackboard to Canvas. This change will bring KU a modern, leading-edge learning management system used by 63 percent of R1 institutions and 68 percent of AAU institutions.

The current plan is to complete the transition by 2023. Learn more at movetocanvas.

Why this change now

Last year, Blackboard announced that it would no longer support our current on-campus platform. This major announcement offered the right time to evaluate our options, and KU’s Academic Systems Steering Committee recommended that KU adopt Canvas. For many years, both instructors and students have requested that KU evaluate and implement Canvas. Lastly, our Blackboard contract extends through 2024, providing ample time in which to make this transition smoothly and seamlessly.

About Canvas

Since its launch in 2011, Canvas has become a leading learning management system in higher education. It has pulled even with Blackboard, gaining 28 percent of the market. In fact, Canvas is the only learning management system to continuously grow its market share over the past three years. In addition to the 63 percent of R1 institutions and 68 percent of AAU institutions that use Canvas, more than half of Big 12 schools use Canvas and 14 of 15 Big 10 schools have adopted it.

Canvas provides numerous advantages, including:

• A simple, modern, easy-to-use interface that is intuitive for instructors and students.
• A mobile friendly platform, making it easier to access where and when it is most convenient.
• A web-based, continually updated platform which reduces downtime and ensures data redundancy.

Timeline for transition

Instructors are doing a lot right now, especially with the increased workload created by the pandemic. So, our plan is to complete the transition to Canvas by 2023. Instructors can jump in now, use a practice course, get comfortable, and begin adopting Canvas. Or they can make the transition as they have time in the next two years. Two minimize the time students have to work in both Canvas and Blackboard, KU IT is encouraging instructors to move to Canvas as quickly as they can.

The Canvas transition is currently in an early adoption phase with a limited number of courses in spring 2021 semester. Even more courses will be in Canvas beginning with summer and fall 2021, as instructors begin the transition.

KU IT will regularly update the campus community on our transition to Canvas. Additionally, students, faculty and staff can follow our progress and learn more at movetocanvas. The site is a work in progress, and more information will be added throughout the transition.