Canvas Learning Management System at Pomona College: A Comprehensive Overview
As the academic landscape evolves, so do the tools that support teaching and learning. Pomona College, along with the other 5C undergraduate institutions, has transitioned from Sakai to Canvas as its primary Learning Management System (LMS). This move comes after a successful pilot program and aims to provide an enhanced and more intuitive platform for faculty and students.
Introduction to Canvas at Pomona College
Canvas is the university’s official Learning Management System (LMS). It’s the secure, online platform where teaching and learning happen. Faculty use Canvas to share course materials, post announcements, collect assignments, grade student work, and engage students in discussion. Canvas is designed to serve students and instructors enrolled in a course. Each Canvas course site is a virtual classroom where instructors have full ownership and autonomy over instructional content.
The Transition from Sakai to Canvas
In early April, the announcement was made that all 5C undergraduate schools, including Pomona College, would move from Sakai to Canvas as the primary Learning Management System (LMS). After a successful pilot beginning in fall 2022, the college, in collaboration with the other 5C undergraduate institutions, committed to retiring Sakai in favor of Canvas.
Survey Insights on the Transition
Building on the insights gained from previous surveys during Pomona’s Canvas LMS pilot, which yielded overwhelmingly positive feedback from both faculty and students, ITS recently distributed a follow-up survey titled “Input on Sakai to Canvas Transition: Concerns, Training and Timing.” This survey was designed to gain a deeper understanding of faculty sentiments and concerns as Pomona transitions fully to Canvas. The survey was available for a duration of two weeks and achieved a strong level of participation.
ITS received a total of 79 responses; however, because of the need in capturing specific input from a variety of user types, not all respondents answered the entire survey. Some completed only the initial question and the closing comments section, while others responded to more sets of questions. Because of this, each question was analyzed based only on the number responding to that particular question.
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Faculty Sentiments and Concerns
The announced transition from Sakai to Canvas has been met with a range of sentiments and concerns from faculty members, as revealed in the recent survey. The survey findings underscore the importance of ongoing communication and support from ITS as we navigate this transformative change.
To accommodate the diverse levels of experience with Canvas among Pomona faculty, the initial survey question asked respondents to categorize themselves into one of four distinct groups. This initial question asked: “Tell us where you are in a Sakai to Canvas migration”. Out of the 79 total respondents, 71% (56) indicated that they are only using Sakai and have not migrated any courses to Canvas. Of these 56, only 46 submitted answers for their group’s remaining survey questions. While 71% represents a significant portion of the respondents, it’s important to note that this figure may not fully represent those who are already using Canvas and might have opted out of the survey.
Respondents to the initial survey question who indicated that they are using Sakai and have not yet migrated any course to Canvas were presented a series of questions related to the upcoming move to Canvas. The first question in this series asked the Sakai only respondents to rank their top three concerns from a provided list of six concerns along with an “Other” option where they could leave comments. Similarly, those who have migrated a course to Canvas were asked to rank the challenges they faced when moving from Sakai to Canvas. Consistently we see, “recreating my Sakai site” as the number one challenge.
Preferences for Input and Training
Both groups were asked how they would like to continue giving input on the LMS “landscape”. “Through occasional surveys like this” was found to be the favorite, with 77% of all respondents selecting this choice.
The same two groups were asked about the most convenient times for training. While respondents from both groups were able to choose from multiple options the preferred choice for the majority was, “Summer Break: A period of concentrated training without the demands of regular classes”. Those that have yet to migrate a course to Canvas, were also asked to indicate which specific summer month would be most beneficial for their training needs.
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The last question specific to the pre and post Sakai to Canvas instructor groups asked respondents to rank their preferred methods of training. Unlike the previous questions, potential answers here differed as those who have already moved to Canvas may have taken part in Canvas pilot programs offered at the time. Despite these differences, accessing a self-paced online training course was the second most popular choice for both groups. For pre-move respondents, those yet to migrate, the top choice was to attend an intensive paid training.
Interestingly, the number four pick overall for the post-move group, “Other: Please Specify”, actually received a higher number of responses indicating that it was the number one choice to individual respondents with three marking it as their top choice versus the two who marked one-on-one consultations.
Qualitative Feedback
All respondents were asked, “is there anything additional you’d like to share with us to better plan for and support Pomona’s transition to Canvas”. Through the qualitative feedback left we saw many common themes such as apprehension to the move from Sakai to Canvas and the desire for automated migrations. There were also numerous comments asking for a function similar to Sakai Dropbox. Please be assured that we are taking all of these concerns seriously and are actively investigating thoroughly.
Comments included: “One on one training with an ITS member really helped me." and “I guess we need to do it. I am emotionally attached to Sakai, but clearly it’s time to move on."
Canvas Features and Functionality
With Canvas, instructors can enhance their teaching by structuring content in Modules, using SpeedGrader for efficient feedback, and leveraging tools like Discussions, Quizzes, and New Analytics to support student engagement and success. Course sites are automatically created before the start of each term based on the Registrar’s data, making it easy for instructors to get started with their classes right away.
Read also: Canvas: Deleting Quiz Attempts
For students, Canvas offers a centralized hub to access syllabi, assignments, and course announcements, as well as a way to track grades and interact with peers and instructors.
Mobile Accessibility
Canvas offers two mobile apps to help faculty and students interact with their courses and stay connected while on the go. Canvas Teacher is designed for instructors, allowing them to manage courses, grade assignments using SpeedGrader, post announcements, and communicate with students from their mobile devices or tablets. While it’s great for quick course updates and feedback, some features-like course setup and advanced settings-are best accessed from a web browser.
Canvas Student provides students with a centralized way to view course content, submit assignments, check grades, participate in discussions, and receive notifications. Both apps are available for iOS and Android and can be downloaded from the Apple App Store or Google Play.
Accessing Canvas
To access Canvas, visit canvas.pomona.edu. To log in, go to Canvas. Your Dashboard-where you’ll come to find courses you’ve marked as favorites, and a sidebar with upcoming events-will greet you once you’re logged in.
Each college in the Claremont Colleges Consortium has its own digital campus in Canvas. Faculty and students at undergraduate colleges may need to log into their home college to see their course offered by another college in Canvas. CGU faculty and students enrolled in a course at another Claremont College campus may be able to access the course through CGU’s Canvas. If the course is not available in CGU’s Canvas, please contact the hosting college for assistance.
Support and Training Resources
Pomona College is committed to providing comprehensive support and training to faculty and students during the transition to Canvas. If you’re feeling a little lost, no worries! If you need further assistance, ITS-RITG is available to answer your questions or meet you for a consultation.
Faculty training workshops, drop-in sessions and one-on-one consultations will continue to be offered to address remaining questions and provide tailored assistance. Contact us via the ITS Service Desk or complete our one-on-one consultation request form to meet with an ITS staff member. ITG Support - Students may also contact Pomona’s ITS Service Desk or Instructional Technology Group for support via the ticketing system. ITS-RITG is available to answer your questions. Please submit a ticket using the Online Service Desk. Additionally, our Canvas license includes 24/7 chat support from Instructure, the makers of Canvas.
You can find documentation, tutorials, videos, OIT services, and other Canvas-related resources at Canvas Resources. Welcome! The course is organized into three levels: Getting Started, Basics, and Beyond Basics so you can begin at the level that best matches your experience. From there, they can access live chat, call the Canvas support line, or search the Canvas Guides.
Canvas Beyond the Classroom
Because Canvas is built for teaching and learning, it is not the right tool for marketing, event promotion, or general campus communication. Using Canvas for these purposes can lead to confusion, unwanted notifications, and blurred boundaries between instructional and administrative spaces. It can also create compliance and privacy issues, since course sites are restricted to enrolled participants and are not public-facing.
Migration Timeline and Progress
Pomona College has been hard at work to ensure a seamless transition, and we’re on track to meet our goal of fully migrating from Sakai to Canvas by the end of the 2024-25 academic year.
Phase 1: Course Migration
Sakai usage on the first day of Fall 2024 experienced a significant decline of approximately 45% compared to Fall 2023. As of early October, over half of Pomona faculty have incorporated Canvas into their teaching, with 33.8% using it exclusively and 24.8% using both Canvas and Sakai, while 22.6% do not use either. Of the faculty members still using Sakai (18.8%), many have initiated efforts to fully transition to Canvas and continue to make progress.
Phase 2: Transitioning Sakai Project Sites
We’re actively assisting departments and individuals in migrating non-instructional content (e.g., committee notes, shared files) to alternative platforms like Box and SharePoint. Unlike courses, migrating project sites is a manual, self-initiated process. Due to privacy restrictions, ITS cannot migrate these sites on your behalf. Starting Spring 2025, creating new project sites in Sakai will no longer be an option.
Phase 3: Data Archiving and Retention Policies
By Fall 2025, Canvas will be the sole learning management system, with Sakai access limited to admin-level users by request only. This will continue through Spring 2026.
Spring 2025 will be the final semester that active courses and project sites will be available in Sakai. This is part of a consortium-wide initiative among the 5C undergraduate schools to fully retire Sakai. After this, any remaining content on Sakai will be accessible in a read-only mode for archival purposes.
If there’s something you still need from Sakai, we can help. A legacy archive will be available from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2026, and our team can assist with retrieving content during that time. We encourage you to send in your request as early as possible.
tags: #canvas #learning #management #system #pomona #college
