A change is coming: NGU switching from Blackboard to Canvas
Emma Ogren, Staff Writer
Photo by Emma Ogren
Officially starting on June 1, 2026, North Greenville University plans to make the switch from Blackboard to Canvas as the school’s main learning platform.
Canvas will now be the space for students to turn in their assignments and projects and receive feedback from professors. Like Blackboard, students will also be able to access their grades right in the platform.
According to Instructure, which is Canvas’ parent company, Canvas is designed to be both flexible and accessible for institutions and their students. Their mission statement says that they strive, “to help learners thrive in tomorrow’s landscape by delivering a future-ready ecosystem.”
Tracy Kramer, dean of NGU online, explained that the version of Blackboard that NGU currently uses will not be available after May 31.
There were a few other platforms that came up in conversation, such as Brightspace, when deciding on what to do next. However, it ultimately came down to the updated version of Blackboard or Canvas.
This decision to choose Canvas came from wanting a more “user-friendly platform” that is easier for both students and faculty to grasp.
“Since we’re going to have to make some transitions,” Kramer said, “we decided to take the opportunity to move to a platform that we believe is better for everybody. For primarily students, but also for the faculty as well.”
To start, this switch will be rolled out in a pilot program. The first school to implement Canvas will be the school of allied health in the graduate programs. They will fully move platforms in the spring semester of 2026, starting in January. This choice was made as the test group will have fewer classes and therefore it will be easier to work out any problems that there may be in the system.
The first semester in which all students will be using Canvas as the official platform is summer 2026.
NGU will also have training for both students and faculty on how to navigate and use Canvas. This training will start in the spring semester of 2026 for both faculty and students. For students, these will mostly be held online with plans for a few in-person workshops in the future. Faculty and staff will be required to do more training than students.
Canvas also has features that Blackboard does not offer. For example, professors can record video and audio of their feedback to give to students. The hope with this feature specifically is that students will gain more understanding of the reasoning behind their grades.
“One of the things that we really like are the feedback mechanisms,” Kramer said. “Faculty can speak to you about your assignment, instead of just giving you your grade.”
Another tool offered in Canvas is an updated calendar that shows assignments and their due dates. This has the ability to help students stay organized and on top of their tasks.
There are plans to gain feedback after the switch from students and staff about how the platform is working for them through IT surveys.
