LMS Transition — FAQ

The UNC System’s 17 institutions currently use three different learning management systems under separate contracts. Moving to one LMS will consolidate technology across campuses and offer several key benefits:

• Cost efficiencies by reducing the LMS cost-per-student across the UNC System; 
• Greater familiarity for students, especially incoming first-year and transfer students who have already used Canvas in high school or community college; and
• Improved collaboration and easier sharing of course materials across institutions.

Yes, the UNC System has selected Canvas by Instructure.

This will be a multi-year process. Faculty will be provided with clear timelines and support as we collectively navigate this transition as a university. DELTA is in the early stages of creating a transition timeline to be shared on this website and across multiple faculty communication vehicles.

Faculty and instructors will eventually need to transition their courses into Canvas. This will not be an overnight transition, and DELTA will provide hands-on training and support throughout the process. DELTA will share more information on timelines and expected impacts as we receive more information.

Your feedback is important and will help inform planning and communications throughout the process. DELTA has launched an inquiry form to capture any questions or comments from instructors.

Canvas will not be available for instruction in spring 2026. We need time to ensure that we can provide support for instructors, to set up the system to meet NC State’s needs and to integrate Canvas with campus systems and other academic tools before we can support instruction. We will be preparing a guide on developing Moodle courses in a way that will ease the transition to Canvas, and we plan to share more about that resource in late spring 2026.

The purpose of this phase (January through June 2026) is to provide DELTA with structured, real-world feedback on Canvas configuration, course structure, onboarding processes, and support needs within a controlled environment. This phase is designed to inform DELTA by allowing invited participants to explore, test, and provide feedback on evolving Canvas settings and functionality. 

The focus is not on course development for immediate teaching or content transfer, but on helping DELTA define platform parameters, identify training and support priorities, evaluate Moodle-to-Canvas imports, and surface usability issues as configurations change. Insights gathered during this phase will inform decisions to deliver a more stable, feedback-informed Canvas environment for early access and beyond. Evaluator access will be by invitation only.

We understand this concern, and we are working with Canvas developers to improve their existing Moodle-to-Canvas migration process. Our shared goals is to have a tool that moves most course materials. DELTA will also work with instructors to identify alternatives for items that cannot be migrated.

Most systems that integrate with Moodle also integrate with Canvas, though the functionality may differ. As DELTA prepares Canvas for NC State, we will be working through all of the integrations and determine how they function in Canvas.

We will be working closely with OIT to review the Canvas Accessibility Checker, as well as external accessibility tools comparable to Brickfield. Universally designed and fully accessible courses are a priority for NC State, and we will continue to give our community of instructors the tools they need to deliver courses in which all students can learn.

We know that the flexibility of the Projects server meets many needs on campus. While we don’t yet know exactly how Canvas will be implemented at NC State, we plan to ensure that faculty and staff have an environment that meets their needs to support our students and build their courses.

We will be using Canvas to support Outreach courses. The exact timeline for the transition is not yet determined, but it will be a multiyear process. Please stay tuned for updates on the transition timeline.