New contractor set to replace Blackboard in 2025

In November 2023, it was revealed that the University is going to replace Blackboard with Canvas by Instructure in 2025. 

The article reveals that over the summer of 2023, over 260 students and staff sampled three different systems to decide which would be the best to implement. 

After the university consultation and decision making process, Canvas was selected to be Blackboard’s successor. 

The University will now begin a “discovery phase” – “where, over the next three months, we will work with them [Canvas] to configure the system to our needs in a way that works for students, staff and the University as a whole.”

Canvas by Instructure was launched in 2011 and has been adopted by other universities in the United Kingdom, including the University of Liverpool, the University of Newcastle, and Swansea University.

According to Instructure, they are “partnering with an increasing number of UK institutions to streamline their digital tools and content and create a more collaborative and engaging learning experience.”

Kenny Nicholls, the General Manager at Instructure, said “We are looking forward to partnering with these forward-looking institutions to meet their long-term digital goals.”

In recent years, universities have not renewed their contracts with Blackboard – University College London ended their partnership with Blackboard in the spring of 2022, in addition to Johns Hopkins University in the United States.