By Spring 2020, Wayne State College students will say goodbye to Sakai and hello to Canvas.

Edmund Elfers, WSC director of teaching and learning, said that WSC outgrew Sakai. In 2008 when the campus first began using Sakai, there were only a few systems to maintain, but now there are just too many systems to keep up with, he said.

Elfers said Sakai was an open program that was free to use and WSC had to maintain it themselves. Canvas, however, is a widely used learning management system and the school does not have to maintain it.

Elfers said that many classes now use online textbooks.

Canvas works well with the textbooks, making the system more fit for the modern technology of today.

Returning students have noticed the change as well.

“I like canvas better,” sophomore June Brusoe said. “I like it because it’s easier to use and it’s easier to find my assignments.”

Many students will notice that Canvas is a smoother system and is easier to operate than Sakai.

Canvas has all the classes that a student is in listed on the home page, making it easy to navigate.

“It was one of the fastest turnarounds I have ever seen,” Elfers said.

WSC began its proposal for a new learning management system in March 2019 and by April 1, the college already had offers. Canvas became available for use on campus on July 1.

Over the summer, 117 faculty members attended training to ensure they were able to get the new system running as quickly as possible.

Elfers said how instrumental Jennifer Johnson, the IT specialist of teaching and learning technologies, was in the transition.

“Jennifer put together all the staff training.” Elfers said.

Elfers said that she also arranged for some of the staff to go to Long Beach, California, for a Canvas training seminar.

Elfers said 80 classes still use Sakai, but by next semester every class with be on Canvas. About 478 WSC classes are currently using Canvas.

Elfers said Canvas is widely used across the country.

It is the system used by the University of Nebraska—Lincoln, many community colleges and several local high schools, and many freshmen and transfer students already know how the system works.