Get ready to adopt Canvas with ease in Spring 2026—explore this page for transition resources, training, and support.
Canvas is the University of Miami's next-generation learning management system (LMS). It's mobile-friendly, intuitive, and packed with tools that enhance teaching, learning, and accessibility.
Blackboard Original will be retired by December 31, 2026, and will no longer be used for teaching at UM.
Starting Fall 2025, UM begins transitioning to Canvas.
This transition fosters modern instruction and supports our commitment to innovative teaching.
Faculty who previously used Canvas or participated in the pilot are serving as early adopters for Fall 2025 courses.
All faculty are encouraged to train and explore Canvas.
In Spring 2026, all faculty can opt in to teach in Canvas, access migrated course content, and continue with training.
In Summer 2026, Canvas becomes the preferred LMS; you may request that your courses stay in Blackboard.
In Fall 2026, Canvas becomes the official LMS for all University of Miami courses.
Canvas was selected after carefully reviewing multiple learning platforms to support innovation at the University of Miami. Students and faculty were engaged in a pilot program and shared feedback through surveys, tickets, and conversations. This input was analyzed and presented to the Academic Computing Advisory Committee, Academic Deans Policy Council, and the Faculty Senate. Each group voted in favor of adopting Canvas over Blackboard Ultra based on feedback and platform comparisons. Driven by insights from students and faculty during the LMS evaluation process. Supports inclusive, student-centered teaching with a streamlined design experience. Canvas positions UM for future innovation and aligns with peer institutions.
Why Canvas?
Aligning with UM's Vision for Teaching, Learning, and Technology:
Feedback-Informed
Modern Instruction
Built for Innovation
Everything you know—organized more intuitively. Canvas has core features such as:
Frequent improvements based on community feedback. Canvas is updated regularly with:
In-depth training is being provided for UM faculty throughout the Fall 2025 semester. Click here to register for a live training session. Get direct guidance on common questions and explore advanced features as an instructor or student.
Training
Faculty and students enrolled in courses can access Canvas now at canvas.miami.edu using your Login ID and password. Canvas can also be accessed through courses.miami.edu—the landing page for both, Blackboard or Canvas—and via the Canvas button within Blackboard.
Once logged in to Canvas (canvas.miami.edu), use the dashboard to access your courses, or the Courses page. Courses will have a simple template that you can customize.
Students should check Blackboard first. If your course has moved to Canvas, a direct link or instructor announcement will appear in your Blackboard course to access Canvas.
The transition starts from August 2025, with early adopters teaching courses in Canvas in Fall 2025. Broader adoption is planned for Spring 2026, with most courses taught in Canvas by Fall 2026.
Canvas was selected after a comprehensive evaluation of Blackboard Ultra and Canvas, and recommended by faculty, after being presented to various levels of faculty governance. This included a Canvas Pilot with early adopters across disciplines to test Canvas functionality and support. Participants contributed feedback to refine the rollout. Additionally, Blackboard Original will be retired in 2026, prompting the need for a new platform.
All courses will be taught in Canvas starting in Fall 2026. Blackboard will remain accessible until May 1, 2027, after which access will be removed.
Actively used course content from Spring 2024 through Summer 2026 will be bulk migrated, including assignments, quizzes, presentations, announcements. Grades and enrollment data will not be migrated; only content is transferred.
Blackboard access will remain through May 1, 2027. Academic courses will be retained per the latest current standard operating procedure, with any updates to this procedure communicated during the transition period.
No. Files or assignments that students uploaded to Blackboard will not automatically transfer to Canvas. Students are recommended to download and save any personal files they want to keep before May 2027, when Blackboard will be retired.
As part of our transition to Canvas, our efforts are currently focused on supporting academic credit-seeking courses in both systems. During this period, the creation of non-academic courses in both Blackboard and Canvas is temporarily on pause. We appreciate your patience as we evaluate the best options to support the broader academic community.
Blackboard was once the primary platform for resource sharing, collaboration, and quizzes for faculty, staff, and students. Now, with alternatives like Microsoft Teams, Office365, and ULearn, Blackboard may no longer be the best option. As a result, organizations and manually created courses will not be transferred to Canvas in the bulk-migration process. A review is underway, and a new process will assist in transitioning existing resources from Spring 2026.
Instructors enrolled in courses for the target semester can access their course shell via the Canvas (canvas.miami.edu) dashboard. If you requested a Blackboard migration for Fall 2025, look for courses labeled "MIGRATED." These are content-only and not connected to CaneLink. Additional bulk migration will occur over the 2025-2026 academic year.
To prepare for the migration, we will have multiple support options embedded within Canvas (canvas.miami.edu) ranging from 24/7 Canvas support via chat, phone, and email for faculty available via the "Help" menu, live and on-demand training resources. The Learning Platforms helpdesk will continue to provide training and support to both Blackboard, Canvas, and other academic technologies.
Blackboard access will remain through May 1, 2027. Academic courses will be retained per the latest current standard operating procedure, with any updates to this procedure communicated during the transition period. Faculty and staff are encouraged to export any key content or resources for your own records. Non-academic content (organizations, courses not connected to CaneLink) must be exported manually.
Large courses have been identified, and Academic Technologies will assist with reducing and migrating course content to Canvas using both internal and external services. Historically, large course sizes in Blackboard are often caused by unused duplicate content and media content, leading to performance issues across the system.
Migrated courses will be clearly labeled with "migrated" in the course ID and name. Only content from actively used courses will be transferred, not historical copies or unused materials.
We will be collaborating with Blackboard to export and archive SafeAssign data where possible.
Yes, Kaltura items embedded in courses will be migrated, but some may require relinking. The same applies to other integrated learning technologies.
Students are enrolled automatically via CaneLink and updated every three hours. Courses become visible to students only after instructors publish them.
In addition to help resources and an orientation course accessible on Canvas (canvas.miami.edu), faculty are encouraged to add Canvas info to syllabi and email students before the semester begins to confirm that you will be teaching on Canvas this semester at canvas.miami.edu. An example announcement could be: Students are advised that the course [insert course name / code] will not be available on Blackboard this semester. The course will instead be delivered through Canvas. To access the course, go to: https://canvas.miami.edu
Canvas currently features multiple high-use third-party tools—including Zoom, Respondus, Gradescope. Certain integrations—including Kaltura, Turnitin (which will replace SafeAssign for plagiarism detection), and Ally—will not be accessible for a Fall 2025 term start. Kaltura videos may still be shared and accessed externally if needed. To review the list, access the Early Adopters page.
Features and Tools
Canvas provides a modern, consistent interface, real-time chat, appointment groups, email integration, Smart Search, Canvas Commons (learning object repository), Lucid (whiteboarding and concept mapping), an Enhanced Portfolio tool, and Turnitin Feedback Studio for plagiarism detection.
Most integrations are already available, including Kaltura, Zoom, Gradescope, Respondus, Quickly Attendance, and publisher tools. To review the list, access the Early Adopters page.
Not yet, but this feature is on the Canvas roadmap. Currently, Respondus 4.0 can be used to convert Word questions for import.
Yes, announcements will be transferred, and you can schedule announcements on Canvas. Students can also reply to announcements if they are enabled.
Grading and Analytics
Canvas offers a flexible assignments panel, assignment groups, weighted grading, and filters for gradebook views. SpeedGrader allows detailed, individualized feedback, including rubrics and inline comments.
Yes, SpeedGrader in Canvas supports individualized feedback, like Blackboard Annotate, but with enhanced features.
Course Analytics provides engagement data, login history, and activity tracking, refreshed every 8 hours. Additional analytics tools are available for quizzes and assignments.
Course Management
Currently, only the Learning Platforms Helpdesk team can add users, or it must be done through CaneLink. The process is under review for future improvements.
Instructors can favorite current courses to display them on the dashboard. All courses remain listed in the courses area, but filtering and ordering by year is possible.
Contact the Learning Platforms team to merge (cross-list) courses. This process is managed by the team during the transition.
Inactive students remain listed for data protection and potential reactivation. Deletion is avoided to prevent loss of student content.
Training and Support
Training sessions run twice a week from next week until January, with more advanced workshops in the new year. Faculty and TAs are encouraged to attend. Self-paced resources and a faculty training course are available on Canvas.
Yes, in-person training will be offered in the new year after initial online sessions.
Contact the Learning Platforms Help Desk at 305-284-3949 or visit lpt.it.miami.edu. Canvas also offers 24/7 in-app support via live chat, phone, or email from the help menu.
In addition to help resources and an orientation course accessible on Canvas (canvas.miami.edu), faculty are encouraged to add Canvas info to syllabi and email students before the semester begins to confirm that you will be teaching on Canvas this semester at canvas.miami.edu. An example announcement could be: Students are advised that the course [insert course name / code] will not be available on Blackboard this semester. The course will instead be delivered through Canvas. To access the course, go to: https://canvas.miami.edu
For additional information or to request support during the transition, please contact the Learning Platforms team at lpt.it.miami.edu/contact.
Need Help?
