Choosing a New Learning Management System

In December of 2010, Salve Regina University formed a Subcommittee to review and recommend a new Learning Management System (LMS) solution for its faculty and students. This effort was necessitated by Blackboard’s decision to suspend support for its WebCT offering by January, 2013. Although a similar LMS decision process is being experienced by several colleges and universities at this time, the situation at Salve Regina may be slightly different from others. The approach taken by the LMS subcommittee was to base the recommendation on an evaluation framework consisting of five components; these components included pedagogy, technology fit, financial cost, LMS migration effort and ongoing support. Four of the leading LMS solution providers demonstrated their system in front of an assembly consisting of faculty, staff and students. As a result of the vendor system reviews, two LMS solutions were designated as finalists (Blackboard Learn and Instructure’s Canvas) in May, 2011. Because of the strong feelings toward each of the finalists’ products, it was decided to conduct parallel pilots with volunteer faculty during the Fall 2011 semester. The paper will describe the activities, perspectives and challenges that were part of the overall experience. In many respects, given the constitution of the LMS subcommittee and the particular opportunities and constraints that exist at all schools, each school’s experience could be considered similar to others and yet unique at the same time. This paper will describe the Salve Regina University experience in arriving at its recommendation and ultimate decision.