Announcement of Canvas Implementation Timeline

Recently, the Montana University System announced its decision to adopt Canvas as the next statewide learning management system (LMS). Initial transition planning is underway in collaboration with OCHE and the new vendor, Instructure. We will share details of the implementation plan as they become available.

The UM implementation team consists of key members from UM IT and UMOnline, including Corey Cardoza, Executive Director of Enterprise & Strategic Technology-UM IT, and Nancy Clouse, Director of Instructional Design-UMOnline. At this point in the initial planning stages, we can share that, after consulting with ECOS and with considering that UM and its affiliates have a Moodle contract ending earlier than MSU and their affiliates, UM will be part of the first cohort to transition to Canvas.

For UM, our summer semester will serve as a pilot semester. Those teaching summer courses will be offered on a volunteer basis, to use either Moodle or Canvas. Then, for Fall 2024, all courses will use Canvas as the LMS. We realize this is a rapid and significant lift for the campus, but this will allow our 2024-25 academic year to be fully transitioned at the start of the year. It will also enable us to use spring and summer to provide training and transition support.

A third-party vendor will handle the course migration of Moodle courses into Canvas. Our campus implementation team is scheduled to meet with our Canvas representative next week to provide more details about the implementation plan, timelines, and training, which we’ll share as soon as they’re available.

For now, know that the UM implementation team is diligently working towards transitioning our campus to the new learning management system. Canvas is a market-leading LMS, and we have received positive feedback from users. We look forward to working with our campus community on this upcoming transition and will keep you informed via campus communications and an upcoming project website once more details are available.

For questions regarding the Canvas transition, please contact SingleLMS@umontana.edu.

UM Canvas Implementation Team