Canvas learning management system transition update – fall 2025

Dear faculty and staff,

I hope this message finds you well now that we find ourselves navigating the fall 2025 semester. I write today to share critical updates regarding the learning management system transition from Blackboard to Canvas, which was announced in April.

More specifically, I am pleased to share that this transition from Blackboard to Canvas is underway, and this August, early adopters successfully gained access to Canvas and began developing courses for the upcoming spring 2026 semester.

On Sept. 30, all faculty will be able to log into Canvas with their NetID and password, just as one would for any other UIC application. Once faculty join Canvas, they will have access to a Canvas sandbox to practice building a course and can opt into several "how to" courses developed by Learning Technology Solutions.

Learning Technology Solutions staff are ready to assist faculty in developing prep sites, copying courses from Blackboard to Canvas and providing any additional support as needed, and any faculty interested in becoming an early adopter, or who would like to build or restructure a course themselves, should submit a ticket to Learning Technology Solutions.

A transition webpage has been developed to serve as a central resource for information and materials related to the transition, where faculty and staff can find an updated transition timeline as well as self-paced faculty trainings, recordings of training sessions, town halls and other additional resources that will continue to be expanded upon throughout the transition process.

In addition, please note that on Oct. 1, the official learning management system transition will begin, starting with the following colleges:

• Graduate College
• Honors College
• College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (Individual departments will be notified as the transition begins)
• College of Nursing
• Jane Addams College of Social Work
• College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs

Other schools and colleges, however, will proceed at their own pace, each supported by their dedicated instructional designers and planning teams. These include:

• School of Law
• School of Public Health
• Retzky College of Pharmacy
• College of Business Administration
• College of Medicine
• College of Dentistry
• Extended Campus

All other colleges without dedicated support should refer to the transition webpage, where a timeline can be found that identifies the semester in which each college will be contacted by Learning Technology Solutions to begin the transition.

We truly appreciate your ongoing support and collaboration in this effort to create an enhanced and more effective learning environment for our entire UIC community.

Should you have any questions, please contact Learning and Technology Solutions at [email protected].

Sincerely,

Karen J. Colley
Provost and Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs

Matt Riley
Associate Vice Chancellor for Innovation and Chief Information Officer

Bryan Libbin
Associate Chief Information Officer for Academic Technology and Learning Innovation

For more information, please contact: Learning and Technology Solutions [email protected]