As many are aware, The University of New Mexico has been engaged in an extended evaluation process to determine the future direction of its Academic Learning Management System (LMS).
A Request for Proposals (RFP) was issued in February of 2020. Four vendors submitted proposals. The core scoring team evaluated those proposals and identified three finalist systems, which were then made available for evaluation by members from UNM’s student, faculty, and staff communities via a COVID-safe, online confidentiality process. Over 500 evaluators volunteered and were given access to the systems under review, including fully developed sample courses (both students and faculty) and sandboxes to test course development (faculty).
Multiple demos, orientations, and office hours were scheduled so any questions evaluators had about the systems could be addressed. The demos and orientations were recorded and made available to evaluators who could not attend live sessions. Task-based and post-demo survey responses were solicited from the evaluators to gauge ease of use from both the student and faculty perspectives. A report including methods and survey results is available for review by members of the UNM community (Net ID and password required).
Canvas was consistently rated as the top candidate by both the RFP scoring team and the larger evaluation community and was awarded a contract with UNM.
“We had great participation in the selection process from faculty, staff, and students, and Canvas was the clear favorite," said Elisha Allen, director of UNM Academic Technologies. "The fact that the UNM community prioritized participation in the selection process during these unusual circumstances says a lot about the importance of the Learning Management System in supporting UNM’s mission, and we are excited to do this work to move the university forward.”
IT Academic Technologies is pleased to announce implementation planning is now underway for a full transition to Canvas as of Summer 2022. For up-to-date information on the timeline, the availability of training, etc., visit the Canvas Implementation site.