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Faculty and Staff Resources for Canvas LMS Migration

Courses Moving in Each Phase

Supporting courses or departments through the glow up? The LMS Migration is happening in carefully planned stages to keep things smooth and manageable.

2026 Spring Pilot Courses

ALH-3101, ALH-3102, ALH-3103, ALH-3301, ALH-3430, BIS-1120, CIS-1107, CIS-1111, CIS-1140, CIS-1411, CIS-1510, CIS-2165, CIS-2170, CIS-2416, CIS-2421, CIS-2427, CIS-2510, CIS-2550, CIS-2640, CIS-2731, COM-2206, HIM-1101, HIM-1110, HIM-1160, HIM-1165, HIM-1201, HIM-1204, HIM-1217, HIM-2144, HIM-2145, HIM-2211, HIM-2233, HIM-2252, HIM-2262, HIM-2278, MAT-1120, MHT-1120, PTA-1000, PTA-1005, PTA-1300, PTA-1325, PTA-1350, PTA-1375

Migration Support for Faculty

eLearning has your back.

  • D2L Course Prep Guide — Provides faculty with clarity on what to review in D2L before exporting a course for migration, including steps to prep content, files, assignments, and gradebook settings to support a smoother migration. 
  • Canvas Course Prep Guide (coming soon!)— What to verify after importing into Canvas (formatting, links, media, rubrics, accessibility, dates, gradebook and more) so your course is complete and student-ready.

Canvas Special Migration and Archival Requests

Have a unique course type or process that doesn’t fit neatly into the migration phases? Need to archive something for longer than three years? Other specific requests?

Canvas Special Migration and Archival Request

Canvas Custom Workflow Request

Archive: Long-term copy of your D2L course for record-keeping not intended for teaching in Canvas.

Migrate: Export from D2L and import into Canvas for teaching; expect adjustments and quality checks.

Previous Communications

Bright Questions, Clear Answers

Curious about the Glow Up?
You’re not alone. This section brings together the most common questions and answers from our Checkpoint Chats - you can catch up at any time.

Access & Training

When will faculty get access to Canvas?

Sinclair is working with Instructure through November to configure Canvas (organizational structure, roles and permissions, SIS and SSO integration, third-party tools, and testing). Once that work is complete, pilot faculty will begin training and preparation. Broader faculty access and training are expected to begin early in Spring 2026.

How can I start learning Canvas now?

The Canvas Community offers free guides, videos, and discussion boards open to everyone. You don’t need an account to browse, but creating one lets you join conversations and save resources. A good place to start is the Instructor Guide.

Has Canvas changed much in recent years?

Not significantly. If you’ve used Canvas recently, the overall look and navigation will feel familiar. Updates since 2022 include grading flexibility, analytics, and accessibility tools—these add options rather than changing how you build or run a course.

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Migration Process

Will faculty work with one ID during course migration?

No. Instead of a single instructional designer for each course, Instructure, eLearning and course coordinators will work together to migrate courses using shared resources. eLearning staff and course coordinators will have distinct roles during the course clean-up process after migration, which will be further defined in the coming weeks.

Will everything in Brightspace shells transfer to Canvas?

Most content migrates reliably, but some cleanup will be needed (e.g., broken links, image formatting, or layout issues). The amount of cleanup depends on the age, type, and complexity of your course.

Will all courses move to Canvas by Summer 2026?

Yes. Starting May 18, 2026, all classes will run in Canvas. No courses will remain in Brightspace after that date.

What is the deadline to update Master course shells?

Pilot course masters should be updated in D2L Brightspace by December 15, 2025. All other course masters should be updated by March 6, 2026. All Course Coordinators are strongly encouraged to update courses before the posted deadlines.

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Course Masters & Special Cases

Can faculty migrate face-to-face shells?

Yes. eLearn-supported masters (online, blended, FlexPace) will be migrated first, but faculty can request additional shells, including face-to-face, through the Canvas Migration Special Request form.
Note: Requests to migrate multiple term lengths for the same course will not be approved.

As a course coordinator, can I migrate multiple masters?

One eLearn master per course is supported, so if you coordinate multiple courses, you may migrate one master for each course. Additional masters can be requested using the Canvas Migration Special Request form. FlexPace and Tech Prep masters will be included in the bulk migraiton process and do not need to be requested.

What about multi-modal or multiple masters for the same course?

If you have a recent multimodal master, this is the one to migrate.
If you maintain separate masters for online, blended, or term lengths, choose one. Best practice is to choose the online master and consolidate syllabi and other content so that one master works across multiple term lengths and modalities.
If content is truly different between master shells of the same course, you may request additional masters using the Canvas Migration Special Request form. 

I don't use Master course shell. What should I do?

A dev shell can be migrated in place of a master course shell, by recording it on the Migration Tracker. Additionally, remember that all 26/SP teaching shells will be migrated automatically as part of the bulk migration process, or you can request migration of a teaching shell from another term via the Canvas Migration Special Request form.

 

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Teaching & Tools

Are we testing Canvas on Chromebooks?

Yes. Canvas is fully supported in Chrome and should run smoothly on Chromebooks. Student and faculty testing on Chromebooks will be part of the Spring 2026 pilot to confirm compatibility.

Will we be using AI tools in Canvas?

Yes. Canvas is beginning to roll out IgniteAI to help with creating quizzes, drafting rubrics, summarizing content, and giving quick feedback. This tool can save time and keep data safe and private—not to replace instructors. Sinclair has requested to serve as a beta tester for IgniteAI, and the AI Excellence Institute will support faculty usage.

Can non-students or external users be added to Canvas shells?

Yes. To replicate a D2L process, submit a request via the Canvas Custom Workflow Request form. Additoinally, Sinclair purchased Canvas Catalog, which connects Workforce Development courses to eLearn, and allows enrollments in eLearn for non-academic users. If you would like to discuss opportunities with Canvas Catalog, contact Migration Co-Chairs Melissa Hart or Jessica Hodell.

Will weekly modules still be allowed?

We recognize many students prefer a weekly structure. To avoid creating multiple Masters for different term lengths, we recommend building the Masters with Topics or Modules. Due dates and announcements should be used to guide students weekly. If preferred, "weeks" language may be added to teaching shells.These options give students the weekly guidance they want while keeping the Master consistent and efficient to maintain.

If we send/receive email in Canvas, will college email also be received in Canvas?

No. Official college emails, like from the Bursar, will still only go to Outlook. Canvas messages stay in Canvas, but notifications of Canvas messages will also be sent to Outlook. Students can reply to Canvas mail either in Outlook or in Canvas.

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Have a faculty or staff question we haven’t answered yet?

Share it through our quick one-question survey, and we’ll make sure it’s addressed in a future Checkpoint Chat.

Submit a Faculty or Staff Question

Always Adding More Sparkle

Stay tuned: This page is glowing brighter all the time! New information and resources will be added as the project moves forward.

Questions? Reach out to the eLearning Division.