The Challenge
BIMM University, a prominent creative arts institution with campuses in the UK, Dublin, and Berlin, needed a robust digital learning environment to support its multimedia-heavy curriculum. They also required a VLE that could support its rapid growth across multiple campuses.
Not only was their on-premise legacy VLE unable to meet this goal, but it was also becoming costly and time-consuming to maintain.
Reliability and resource constraints
BIMM’s previous open-source VLE was hosted externally, and required constant security updates and exhaustive coordination across departments.
Maintaining system security was resource-intensive and challenging, leading to high administrative burdens and often detracting from other essential tasks. The VLE’s uptime was also crucial, especially during assessment periods when any system downtime could disrupt student progress and cause frustration.
The previous VLE experienced frequent technical issues, hampering the student and staff experience, and affecting engagement and productivity.
User experience concerns
BIMM’s curriculum, particularly in media-intensive courses, requires reliable multimedia handling for submissions and streaming. The old VLE struggled with these technical demands, which created friction for students and staff in terms of both functionality and satisfaction.
The previous VLE also struggled to integrate with other technologies, creating a clunky and disjointed user experience.
Unscalable technology
As BIMM expanded, integrating multiple campuses and institutions presented logistical and technical challenges, including migrating content and managing the legacy systems of newly acquired institutions. Some institutions didn’t have a VLE, while others used disparate platforms, making a unified transition difficult with their previous infrastructure.
The Decision
BIMM’s Dean of Digital Education, Steven Wilkinson, had previously implemented Canvas VLE in another institution. Initially, a one-year pilot of Canvas was launched across two colleges, one of which had never used the platform before, and one which had been partially introduced to Canvas while using a range of other systems. Both colleges recorded success.
Following the successful trial, it was determined that Canvas would be the right solution for meeting BIMM’s needs. The new virtual learning environment was rolled out in full to the remaining colleges at BIMM University in 2021.
The Results
A robust VLE with 99.9% uptime
Canvas, hosted on AWS, offered a highly secure and reliable infrastructure with real-time monitoring, backup, and redundancy. With Microsoft authentication integration, BIMM established single sign-on (SSO) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) for students and staff, significantly improving the ease and security of access.
Canvas’s high uptime was a pivotal factor in the transition. This level of reliability addressed BIMM’s previous issues with system interruptions, particularly during peak usage times, which had previously led to frustration and disengagement among users.
A superior student experience
BIMM’s creative arts focus required a VLE that could handle large multimedia files, which Canvas supported more effectively than the previous system. This capability has empowered BIMM’s students to express creativity without technical barriers.
Instructure’s 24/7 support package provided essential support for students, ensuring swift troubleshooting at critical points, be it an assessment deadline or during the exam period. As a result, BIMM observed an increase in student confidence, knowing that technical support was available anytime. This contributed to a significant rise in student satisfaction with the VLE.
Seamless growth across campuses
The Canvas platform’s scalability allowed BIMM to merge new institutions with minimal disruption. Canvas’s support for course management, rollover, and content migration enabled a smooth onboarding of newly integrated campuses and colleges. This shared effort between BIMM and Canvas facilitated BIMM’s ambitious growth, meeting the institution’s needs without overwhelming internal resources.
Improved staff satisfaction
Canvas’s user-friendly interface reduced the learning curve for staff, particularly those with industry backgrounds. This ease of use improved efficiency and minimised the need for extensive training, leading to a more enjoyable experience for faculty.
BIMM developed a microlearning CPD hub using Canvas Credentials and Canvas Catalog, which offers staff members on-demand training and professional development, enhancing the overall institution’s learning ecosystem.
BIMM reported a total downtime of only 53 minutes (0.01%) over a year, all of which was scheduled.
Switching from an on-premise legacy VLE to Canvas increased scores in the National Student Survey (NSS).
BIMM has seamlessly rolled Canvas VLE out across nine different campuses, creating a unified virtual learning experience for all students.
Reliability is critical, especially during peak assessment periods when any downtime impacts student engagement and satisfaction. Canvas’s AWS-backed cloud solution, with world-class uptime and redundancy, ensures consistent access—a game-changer compared to the sporadic outages we experienced with our old platform.
Steven Wilkinson, Dean of Digital Education & Student Experience
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