Lethbridge College

Seeking a 21st-century LMS provider that is constantly looking to improve and innovate, Lethbridge College became the first Canadian higher education system to choose Canvas. After switching from their existing LMS, strong results using Canvas followed, including increased use and interaction with students, and more flexibility to deliver content, track outcomes, and facilitate discussions.

Educators opened Lethbridge College, Canada’s first publicly funded college, in 1957 as a way for people to access quality post-secondary education. Lethbridge College oers certificates, diplomas, and applied degrees that support the needs of agriculture, business, engineering, health, and other industries in Alberta. The college is also a member of the Alberta Rural Development Network, dedicated to helping rural communities grow through research and learning.

Students have the option of traditional face-to-face learning, online courses, or a blend of both. Technology plays a major role in the educational mission of Lethbridge.

“Our LMS (learning management system) usage is very high. Our programming is innovative, and our instructors focus heavily on delivering quality curricula through the LMS.”

-Kyle Snowdon, Library and digital learning manager at the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation, Lethbridge College

Lethbridge College had long used the ANGEL learning management system, which was later purchased by another company and had stopped investing in innovation, counter to the college’s goals. Faculty at Lethbridge wanted to find a comprehensive system that had adequate functionality and support for mobile so students could learn on-the-go. In 2014, the college began its search and considered a wide range of LMS providers.

The LMS evaluation committee expected two challenges by switching to a new learning management system: training faculty to use it and transferring all of the content from the previous system. In addition, Lethbridge included these priorities in their evaluation:

• Ease of use
• Reliability
• Service and support
• Compatibility with institutional needs
• Performance and functionality
• Ability to explore value-added options
• Competitive pricing

The Lethbridge search committee found a new solution: the Canvas Learning Management Platform, which provided new options for teaching and learning. Lethbridge College became the first in Alberta

and one of the first in Canada to choose Canvas. After the decision, nearly 400 Lethbridge instructors and students piloted Canvas over one semester and gave feedback to the committee.

“Instructure was very supportive during our evaluation. As a Canadian institution, we were apprehensive about moving to a cloud-based learning management system. Acknowledging our concerns, the Canvas team provided the necessary documentation for our review and addressed all of our questions.”

-Andy Benoit, Search Committee Lead, Lethbridge College

The LMS Evaluation Committee said the Canvas team gave timely support and guidance from the beginning stages to the campus-wide rollout of a simple-to-use, reliable system.

“It was a fresh start for our instructors, who desired an innovative platform through which to help students be successful.”

-Kyle Snowdon, Library and digital learning manager at the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation, Lethbridge College

Since its adoption of Canvas, Lethbridge College has seen both immediate and gradual benefits of what it calls a “21st-century LMS that is constantly looking to improve and innovate.” More people at the college are using Canvas compared to the previous system. Instructors have more flexibility and online options to deliver content, track outcomes, and facilitate discussions.

Lethbridge’s digital learning team moved from a traditional support desk model to an open support desk physically located inside the library (the main artery of the institution). With this move, the team had greater interaction with students and greater insight into their use of Canvas. They felt this experience reinforced their decision to choose Canvas.

The Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation is better serving faculty by having an innovative LMS. All these activities are designed to foster growth, as an institution and for all learners.

“Now that we have an advanced learning management system, our goals are to continually increase usage among faculty and those already using Canvas—and to continue to take advantage of the features and updates to do an even better job of supporting our students.”

-Kyle Snowdon, Library and digital learning manager at the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Innovation, Lethbridge College