Washington University will fully transition from Blackboard to Canvas by the fall 2019 semester.

The University is in the process of switching between the two grading systems with the hope to completely phase out Blackboard by the fall semester. According to Project Manager for the Washington University Canvas Project Kristi Lenz, the switch in grading systems has been taking place since a faculty survey was conducted during fall 2017.

“There was a survey of the faculty about their experience with Blackboard—what they liked, what they didn’t like,” Lenz said. “We found that there was some discontent with Blackboard, particularly around support and some features that were not available.”

Upon determining that the faculty wanted a change, the University narrowed down the options to two grading systems and conducted a survey in which the faculty overwhelmingly voted for Canvas. Lenz believes the main reason Canvas was selected was its accessibility.

“Canvas has really kept up with the times,” Lenz said. “They have a really strong user community where they get feedback from people actually using Canvas—teachers, administrators, students even—about types of features they would like to see on Canvas.”

According to Lenz, another feature of Canvas that makes it more accessible is its 24/7 support network for students.

“If a student has any question about Canvas functionality or runs into any problem, whether trying to submit an assignment or getting access to anything within Canvas, they can click on the help button in Canvas and it takes them to options they can call, chat or email,” Lenz said. “And that’s available 24/7, so no matter what time you’re working you can contact them if you run into any issues.”

College Writing Professor Lawrence Revard has not switched to Canvas yet, though he agrees with Lenz that it is a better system.

“I’m sure [Canvas] is worth it,” Revard said. “Blackboard isn’t a particularly good program. It’s blocky and chunky and has had failures over the past couple years. I use it for very simple things. The reason I haven’t switched is that everything I need done for my class Blackboard does, but I don’t need anything complicated. My understanding from my fellow teachers is that Canvas is better.”

Though Lenz knows the transition can be difficult for students with classes on both platforms, she believes the switch to Canvas will be worth it.

“[The transition] has created a system where students might find that their courses are on two systems at the same time, and I’ve heard from students that they don’t prefer that. But in order to accommodate the faculty we need to have both systems out so that faculty have time to make that transition.”

According to freshman Pratyush Sridhar, Canvas is an easier and more accessible platform for students.

“I used [Canvas] in high school quite a bit and I really like its accessibility,” Sridhar said. “The modules are structured really well. Blackboard was confusing with where everything was located.”

Lenz believes that students like Sridhar will respond well to the transition to Canvas, which she says is a platform that addresses the current needs of the University.

“[Canvas] is reactive to the changing needs of the educational environment,” Lenz said.