Canvas rollout underway – important Blackboard switch off notice and upcoming events

We are proud to share news that the first three University course units to begin teaching with Canvas in Transnational Education (TNE) have received positive engagement in their initial weeks.  

This success is a testament to collaboration between our TNE academic colleagues, Digital Learning, IT Services, and the CLE project team. Students have praised the neat and easy-to-navigate courses, and the analytics tools have proven invaluable for tracking their learning progress.   

With Executive Education courses starting their rollout of Canvas in April and more TNE courses set to launch in May, we anticipate continued success and look forward to sharing similar positive feedback soon. 

Important Blackboard switch-off notice 

Please be aware, Blackboard will not be available to students and colleagues from Friday, 17 October. All teaching activities, including marking and feedback, will need to be completed before this date.   

Technical teams are working hard to identify and mitigate any potential issues. If you foresee any challenges in your area with this cut-off date, contact your local eLearning team immediately.  

Start building your courses in Canvas  

If you are involved in building and maintaining course content, you can now begin building your courses in Canvas, starting with courses being taught from September 2025.  

Use the Course Unit Canvas Standards available on our microsite and in the Help section of the Canvas menu to support you in building your courses.

Reminder to students to engage with Blackboard 

Students have again been reminded to download any historical Submission and Feedback content from Blackboard before the next academic year, so they have the content easily available. After September 2025, students wanting to access their past assessments, will need to request them via a Connect form taking some to process the request.  

Upcoming events 

Join us at the Canvas roadshow events at the end of April and start of May to learn more about the transition. No registration is required—just drop by and chat with our team! 

• Tuesday 29 April (10:00 – 14:00) Nancy Rothwell Building (ground floor, south entrance) 
• Wednesday 30 April (10:00 – 14:00) University Place (ground floor foyer) 
• Tuesday 6 May (10:00 – 14:00) Main Library (ground floor foyer) 
• Thursday 8 May (11:00 – 15:00) Student’s Union (ground floor foyer) 

Make sure to access the Canvas microsite for all essential documents and regular updates, to help you through the transition.