01/07/2025
By Joseph Hartman
As you are probably aware, the Learning Management System (LMS) that we are currently utilizing, Learn by Blackboard, is being retired. After a yearlong pilot with feedback from involved faculty and students, open forums, discussions with faculty and administration, and recommendations from the Academic Technology Committee (ATC), Graduate Online & Professional Studies (GPS), and Information Technology (IT) teams, we have selected Canvas by Instructure as our next generation LMS.
Students that participated in the Canvas pilot expressed a preference for the Canvas Student app over the Blackboard mobile application and appreciated Canvas features like the confetti celebration upon submitting assignments. They highlighted several advantages of Canvas, including its intuitive organization, accessible course materials, ease of submitting assignments, reminders about upcoming deadlines, and the "what-if" grades feature, which allows students to explore potential outcomes. One student commented, "If we implemented Canvas at UML, I’d be really excited."
We will transition to Canvas in four phases by college according to the following table. Colleges will remain using the Blackboard LMS until they transition. The two-year LMS transition began in fall 2024 and will be completed by fall 2026.
| Phase / College | Teaching in Canvas |
| I. Manning School of Business (MSB) | Spring 2025 |
| and Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences (ZCHS) | |
| II. Fine Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (FAHSS) | Fall 2025 |
| III. Kennedy College of Sciences (KCS) | Spring 2026 |
| IV. Francis College of Engineering (FCE) | Fall 2026* |
Students enrolled in courses in Manning School of Business and the Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences will use Canvas for spring 2025 semester. During the transition period, and through 2026, some students may have courses in both Blackboard and Canvas.
To assist with this transition, we have provided a list of course prefixes that will appear in Canvas for SP25.
Students that take courses in Manning School of Business and Zuckerberg College of Health Sciences will receive communications regarding this transition and will be enrolled in a “free optional” self-paced Canvas Orientation course. Students that are taking MSB or ZCHS courses will gain access to Canvas at the start of Spring 2025 semester. For online and graduate courses, this is the first day of the semester. For on campus undergraduate courses, this is three days before the start of the semester.
Please contact onlinelearning@uml.edu if you have questions for graduate or online courses and canhelp@uml.edu for questions pertaining to undergraduate courses.