About Canvas
Since 2017/18, the University of Nebraska has utilized five separate instances of Canvas Learning Management System (LMS): one per campus for for-credit coursework (Kearney, Lincoln, Omaha and the Medical Center) plus a separate instance to house NU Advance for noncredit offerings and microcredentials systemwide. Canvas is widely utilized by the vast majority of students on all NU campuses in courses of all modalities, as it is more and more common for key course activities to occur within Canvas regardless of a course being face-to-face, hybrid, or fully online. Many faculty and students primarily use Canvas via the app for smartphones or tablets, in addition to regularly using the web-based access via an internet browser. A Spring 2024 NU ITS user satisfaction survey that was sent to all faculty, staff, and students on the Kearney, Lincoln, and Omaha campuses found that 95% of respondents regularly use Canvas, 97% are satisfied with Canvas, and that the most helpful features include announcements, gradebook, and assignments.
The 2025-26 Canvas Convergence Project
Under the direction of Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. David Jackson - who serves as Chair and Executive Sponsor for this project - and with input from each campus Chief Academic Officer, the University of Nebraska has elected to move to a single instance of Canvas rather than remaining in separate, campus-specific instances. The project will launch in Fall 2025 and will utilize a steering committee with representatives from each NU campus. Information sessions will be scheduled for faculty and students. The University of Nebraska ITS team - with NU ITS Associate Vice President Dr. Jaci Lindburg serving as Technical Project Lead - will provide the technical support for this transition project as well as for the new instance of Canvas.FAQ
Which existing NU Canvas environment will be utilized for the new instance going forward?None. A new Canvas environment will be stood up.
Will campus-specific innovation and branding be preserved and highlighted in the new Canvas environment?
The NU-wide instance of Canvas will be a new instance of Canvas that will incorporate key campus artifacts/integrations and respective campus branding into the subaccount level.
I teach at a NU campus. What will be the biggest changes I will notice once this project is complete?
All courses a faculty member is teaching across all NU campuses (and all courses a student is enrolled in across all NU campuses) will be displayed within the new single Canvas environment. The landing page will be unified in terms of all course tiles being visible with a single inbox and a single calendar. Once a student or faculty member clicks on a particular course, it will pull up that campus's respective branding.
A faculty member's usage of key Canvas features (creating a discussion board, posting an assignment, grading a submission) will not fundamentally change as a result of this project. Over time, we would like to scale up helpful integrations beyond a single campus and pilot exciting new technologies more easily across multiple NU campuses, which benefits all.
Will I lose access to prior courses I've built in Canvas?
No. Current Canvas environments will continue to be available. NU ITS will migrate a certain amount (for example, one year) of existing content into the new instance, and will also create a process by which faculty can request to have additional content migrated for them at any time.
What are the key benefits of making this change?
The Canvas Convergence project will enhance the faculty/student experience, particularly for those who teach/learn regularly on more than one NU campus. While not the majority today, this group of instructors/learners do experience a very disconnected learning environment today, particularly in terms of navigating the log in process, using the mobile app, and managing multiple inboxes/calendars.
The Canvas Convergence project also improves equity of access/experience for faculty, students and academic administrators, particularly those who are engaged in some capacity on more than one campus. NU ITS regularly hears that individuals are confused as to why NU's different Canvas environments differ in key areas today including course naming/display and integrated tools/environments available. As of August 2025, 145 tools are used in conjunction with the LMS across different NU campuses, yet awareness of these assets, capability for multi-campus pilots, cross-campus utilization, and common good funding considerations have been difficult to realize.
The new instance of Canvas will be supported by a highly skilled team in NU ITS who will work closely with faculty, instructional designers, and academic leaders. The Canvas support team will offer helpful services such as a Zoom drop-in room for faculty to connect in real time to a local support team with a single click for immediate troubleshooting and service, in addition to providing trainings and workshops on each NU campus. NU ITS will also continue to rely on Instructure, the vendor of Canvas, for after-hours support as we do today.
How does this project align to University of Nebraska's strategic plan and future direction?
The Canvas Convergence project empowers the NU "Odyssey to Extraordinary" strategic plan, particularly two pillars: teaching & learning as well as stewardship & effectiveness. President Gold also often mentions a desired future-state where NU provides a "frictionless student experience," which this project would help to empower for students and faculty across NU.
Will NU Advance be a part of this Canvas Convergence project?
Not at this time. The Canvas Convergence project brings together our four NU for-credit instances of Canvas. NU Advance is fundamentally different in terms of audience and use-case since it is the vehicle to deliver non-credit and microcredential offerings, so is out of scope at this time.
Does this project help NU manage risk more effectively?
Yes. The project's Steering Committee will advise on system-wide standards for things like course retention and course merging, which ultimately reduces our Title II accessibility and FERPA compliance risks. In addition, the project's Steering Committee will advise on a single process for granting heightened platform/course access for certain users (such as department chairs working on program-level assessment reports), which reduces our cybersecurity risk.