Benefits of a new LMS

The move to Canvas enables us to deliver on our strategic imperative to renew the LMS as a priority goal of the Student Experience Action Plan under theme 03 - Enabling Academic Agency and Flexibility for students. It also supports a holistic focus on theme 04 - Fostering a Student-Centered Learning Environment to set instructors up for success and putting students at the heart of everything we do. Both of these elements drive:

• Innovative and flexible learning approaches
• Wider range of learning credentials and paths
• Data-driven insights into learning barriers and goals
• Onboarding success plans for instructors

It focuses Operational Excellence effort on a people-first experience with:

• Leading-edge learning design features
• Increased system reliability
• Seamless software updates
• On-campus help + extended 24/7 vendor support

Three key factors are driving the urgency of this change:

• System reliability - Many students, faculty and staff have shared that the current LMS is no longer supporting their needs. The challenges have been far-reaching, from system outages to limited student mobile experience, limited access to data and analytics, lack of common templates, limited accessibility features and delayed software updates.
• Sustainability - The current LMS requires heavy system maintenance and staff support that is out of balance with the free cost of access. The U of A incurs costs for system hosting, support, custom development and additional features.
• Reputation - As a top-tier university, the U of A is the last of the English-language U15 institutions to upgrade its LMS, which is an important factor in attracting and retaining students and employees.

---

October 2023 Engagement Session

A university-wide discussion about the university's move to a new LMS was held on October 31, 2023. 

View recording View slides

---

Why Canvas?

Partnership with Canvas positions the U of A to provide a learning management system that is more:

• Accessible: with inclusive design standards that enable people of all abilities to fully engage in learning.
• Data-driven: with robust analytics that help faculty support their students’ success such as Mastery Paths and Mastery Gradebook, as well as SpeedGrader and Global Calendar.
• Easy to use: with intuitive, mobile-friendly technology for students and instructors that works across all devices.
• Engaging: with tools and resources that enable modern, personalized learning experiences such as Canvas Studio that turns passive viewing into active discussion.
• Integrated: with seamless interoperability between academic tools and systems.
• Reliable: a vendor-supported LMS with Canvas allows for seamless software updates, always-on system reliability, 24/7 enhanced support and built-in development of new features.
• Supported by partners: with continuous improvement, learning opportunities, and partnership with the LMS provider, including a globally engaged user community.

Learn more about Canvas with this video

How Canvas fits the U of A’s reputation as a top-tier university

Since 2010, Canvas has been the fastest-growing LMS in the marketplace worldwide. This award-winning software-as-a-service solution is used by some of the largest and most prestigious post-secondary institutions in Canada, North America and around the globe, including:

• Top U15 institutions (University of British Columbia, University of Toronto, University of Saskatchewan).
• All Ivy League universities.
• Global #1 ranking universities (according to U.S. News & World Report) in the UK (Oxford University), the United States (Harvard University), Singapore (National University of Singapore), Australia (University of Melbourne), Netherlands (University of Amsterdam), Sweden (Karolinska Institutet), and Norway (University of Oslo).

---

Project Timeline