Canvas Login

Year: 2025

Canvas Information for Fall 2025

Email to faculty teaching in fall 2025

Dear Colleagues,

Canvas is now the official Learning Management System for George Mason University. Access to Blackboard ended July 15, 2025. Canvas is available at https://canvas.gmu.edu.  

New to Canvas? 

If you’re transitioning from Blackboard, here are some helpful resources to get started:

  • Migrated Courses: Many Blackboard courses were automatically moved to Canvas. You can use these as a content source to copy into your fall Canvas courses. Use the Blackboard Migration Course Cleanup Guide.
  • Key Differences: If you previously used Blackboard, read the Top 10 Differences to get you in the Canvas mindset.
  • Training: Visit the training page to learn Canvas, including self-paced options and the schedule of upcoming live trainings. 

Start of the Semester Canvas Guides 

Make sure your courses are ready with these essential guides:

  • Copy/Import a Canvas Course: Step-by-step instructions to import content into your course. Many previous courses from Blackboard are available in Canvas for you to copy into your fall course.
  • Combine Canvas Courses: Unlike Blackboard, you can easily combine multiple sections/courses on your own.
  • Add Tools: You can add integrated tools to your course menu such as Zoom, Attendance, Publisher content, etc.
    • Note: Canvas uses Turnitin (replacing SafeAssign) for plagiarism detection and Honorlock (replacing Lockdown Browser) for test integrity
    • View the complete list of third party integrated tools
  • Communicate with Students in Canvas: Canvas is the easiest way to send emails and announcements directly to students.
  • Publish Your Course: Like Blackboard, when you are ready, you must publish your course to make it available for students. 

Need Help? 

The Help menu on the Canvas login page and in your Canvas course offers 24/7 phone and chat support as well as links to Canvas guides. 

LMS Implementation Committee
George Mason University

Final Faculty Reminder: Blackboard Access Ends July 15

Email sent to current faculty

Dear Faculty, 

Canvas is now the default learning management system for George Mason University. This is the final reminder that access to Blackboard ends for all faculty, staff, and students on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. After this date, you will no longer be able to access any content stored in Blackboard. 

The content from many recent Blackboard courses has been automatically migrated to Canvas. Login to Canvas to view your migrated courses. If you need to retrieve content that was not included in the migration, or if you wish to download additional materials for your records, please do so before July 15. 

Review the Blackboard retirement guide, which includes information on the forthcoming Blackboard Archive, Incompletes, and tips for downloading content for your records. 

Need to learn Canvas this summer? Join the final Canvas Boot Camp, with weekly online meetings starting June 23. Additional resources to assist with this transition are available at info.canvas.gmu.edu. 

Thank you for your attention to this important deadline. 

Charles Kreitzer 
Executive Director, Mason Online 
Office of the Provost 

Joy Taylor 
Executive Director, Learning Support Services 
Information Technology Services  

Final Reminder: Blackboard Access Ends July 15

Email sent to staff with a Blackboard course or organization

Dear Colleague, 

This is a final reminder that access to Blackboard will end on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. After this date, all content in your Blackboard courses and organizations will become permanently inaccessible. 

Please take the following steps as soon as possible: 

  • Review Your Content: Log into Blackboard and select Courses or Organizations from the left menu. If you no longer need the content, no action is required. For help downloading content, visit the Blackboard retirement resources. 
  • Need a Canvas Site? Review the Canvas Use Guidelines to see if your content qualifies for a Canvas site. Non-semester Canvas sites are called Community Courses (previously Blackboard Organizations). If your Blackboard site was not already migrated to Canvas, review manual course migration options. This migration must be completed before July 15. 
  • Content Linked to Websites: If your Blackboard Organization contains documents linked on a university website, please review the WebDocs solution for options and best practices. 

Visit the LMS Transition Website for additional details and contact information.

Thank you for your attention to this important deadline. 

Charles Kreitzer 
Executive Director, Mason Online 
Office of the Provost 

Joy Taylor 
Executive Director, Learning Support Services 
Information Technology Services

Blackboard Access Ends July 15, 2025

Email sent April 16 to all non-faculty Blackboard course and organization owners

Dear Blackboard Users, 

You are receiving this message because you are an owner of one or more Blackboard courses or organizations. As part of the university’s transition to Canvas, all content housed within Blackboard will become inaccessible after Tuesday, July 15, 2025. This is the last day Blackboard will be available. We encourage you to review your content now to determine next steps. 

Steps to Take: 

  1. Review Your Content: Log into Blackboard and choose Courses and/or Organizations on the left menu. Evaluate the material on your site(s). If you do not need the content, no further action is required. For guidance on how to download content, please review the Blackboard retirement resources. 
  2. Request a Canvas Site: Refer to the Canvas Use Guidelines to assess if your content is appropriate for Canvas. A Canvas Community site or other Canvas course type may be a suitable replacement for specific types of non-instructional content. If your use case is within the guidelines, the last opportunity to have Blackboard content automatically migrated to Canvas is May 6, 2025. Submit your requests here.  
  3. Have a Plan for Website-Related Content: If your Bb Orgs content is linked to a university website and you are hosting downloadable files like PDFs, Word documents and/or Power Point files, please visit the WebDocs solution resource page to determine if your content falls under this use case and to learn more. Here, you will also find best practices for hosting content on the web. 

More information is available on the LMS Transition Website. If you have any questions or need assistance with next steps, please do not hesitate to reach out to us at [email protected].  

Thank you for your attention to this important transition. 

LMS Advisory Committee
George Mason University

Action Required: Save Your Files Before Blackboard Access Ends

Email to all Mason student:

Dear Patriot,

As a reminder, the Blackboard learning management system (LMS) will be retired at the end of the spring 2025 semester. Beginning in the summer 2025 term, all courses will use Canvas as the University’s official LMS.

Important Dates:

  • Spring 2025: Last semester Blackboard will be used to support instruction
  • July 15: All access to Blackboard will end

Before July 15, we strongly encourage you to download and save any materials from Blackboard that you may want or need to keep. This could include:

  • Content required to complete an incomplete grade (please work with your instructor on what materials you need)
  • Portfolio artifacts for academic or professional use
  • Documents that may be useful when requesting letters of recommendation

Once Blackboard access ends, these materials will no longer be available. You will not have access to these courses in Canvas.

If you have any questions or need assistance downloading your materials, please visit the Blackboard Retirement Student Resources website or contact the project team at [email protected].

Thank you for taking the time to prepare for this transition.

Sincerely,
Charles Kreitzer
Executive Director, Mason Online
Office of the Provost

Joy Taylor
Executive Director, Learning Support Services
Information Technology Services 

March Faculty Update: Update on Blackboard to Canvas Transition – The Final Stretch

Dear Colleague,

As we enter the final phase of the transition from Blackboard to Canvas, we want to remind you that spring 2025 is the last semester in which courses can be taught in Blackboard. Starting summer 2025, courses that use the LMS must use Canvas (all sessions). Access to save any content from Blackboard will end on July 15, 2025. To prepare for this transition, please review the new Blackboard Retirement Resources site, which provides details on the following:

  • Manage Blackboard Content & Final Migration Opportunity: Save any Blackboard materials you need before July 15, as access will end after this date. The content from many courses has already migrated to Canvas, with all spring 2025 course content moving in May.
    • If you need additional courses or organizations migrated, submit a request via the Final Content Migration Form by May 6. All spring 2025 Blackboard courses will migrate automatically. Archived Blackboard content, including student data, will only be available upon request after July 15.
  • Plan for Incomplete Grades & Grade Appeals: Spring 2025 Canvas course migrations will not include student work. If you assign an incomplete grade, download all necessary materials before Blackboard access ends on July 15. If a grade appeal arises after this date, you may request archived student records. 

The next Canvas Boot Camp is a six-part series that began March 21 and runs until May 2. Click here to register today.

For additional information about any details above, please visit the Blackboard Retirement Resources site. If you have any questions about the transition, please visit the project website or contact the project team at [email protected].

Thank you for your cooperation as we complete this transition to Canvas.

Charles Kreitzer
Executive Director, Mason Online
Office of the Provost

Joy Taylor
Executive Director, Learning Support Services
Information Technology Services  

Blackboard Org to WebDocs – Migration Readiness 

Hello, Web Managers, 

Web-downloadable documents currently stored in Blackboard Organization spaces will be migrated to WebDocs, the new web document management solution for George Mason websites. 

WebDocs, a joint project of the ITS WAS and OUB Web Teams, will store and manage web- downloadable documents that meet both WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards and content purpose criteria. 

WebDocs features include: 

  • Continued Editing Access – Content editors will be able to update migrated files in the future, and new versions will retain the same URL. 
  • Adding New Files – Editors can upload new documents to WebDocs. 
  • Automatic URL Redirection – Existing Blackboard document links on SiteMasonry CMS pages will automatically resolve to the new WebDocs location—no manual updates required. 


Webpages Versus Downloadable Documents 

In most cases, content should be published as a webpage rather than contained in a PDF, Word document, or PowerPoint file. 

There are a few situations when a downloadable web document is appropriate: 

  • Forms that require print-only submissions: Documents that must be printed, signed, or submitted in hard copy. 
  • Reports or policy documents: Official publications that need to retain formatting for compliance, archival, or print distribution.
     

Industry best practices discourage the use of downloadable documents whenever possible. 

Content locked within a document is harder to access, navigate, and find compared to webpage content, creating several challenges: 

Difficult to access: PDFs and other formats often lack proper tagging, making them inaccessible to screen readers and assistive technologies. 

  • Disruptive to read: Downloadable files interrupt browsing flow, requiring extra steps to open and navigate. 
  • Not mobile-friendly: PDFs and other documents do not resize well, forcing users to zoom and scroll. 
  • Obscured from analytics: Analytics are less available for documents than web pages. For example, when a web user finds a PDF using Google search, that web user’s click to the PDF isn’t recorded in George Mason’s analytics. 
  • Lower search visibility: Search engines prioritize webpage content over document content, making PDFs harder to find. 

Prepare to Move to WebDocs 

For each document in your Blackboard Org space, take one of the following actions based on its content and purpose: 

  • Delete: Remove outdated, redundant, or irrelevant documents.
  • Relocate: Use the Solutions Matrix for Bb Orgs Transition to determine where a document should be moved, based on its purpose and content.
  • Convert to Web Content: If the information is evergreen or frequently referenced, incorporate the content into webpage instead of keeping it in a downloadable file. 
  • Confirm Accessibility Compliance: The Assistive Technology Initiative office can confirm that documents for public download meet WCAG 2.1 digital accessibility criteria. Documents left in Blackboard Org spaces for migration must meet digital accessibility standards.   

Transition Timeline 

  • Now–April 2025: Review files stored in BB Org spaces. 
    • Delete outdated or unused documents. 
    • Move documents that are not printable forms, policies, or reports. 
    • Confirm the web downloadable documents (printable forms, policies, or reports) meet WCAG 2.1 accessibility standards. 
  • May–June 2025: Migration process begins. If you have finished your cleanup early, let us know! 
  • July 2025: Blackboard file storage is decommissioned. 

Have Questions? 

Have questions about the move to WebDocs? Finished your cleanup early? Let us know! 

New Accessibility Tool in Canvas

Dear Colleague,   

We are excited to share that when you return from Spring Break, you will have access to Panorama, a robust accessibility tool within Canvas that will replace Ally, the solution previously available in Blackboard.   

Panorama offers similar functionality to Ally, along with enhanced features designed to improve the accessibility of your course materials. One of its key benefits is its ability to automatically fix accessibility issues at the touch of a button, making it even easier to create an inclusive learning environment for all students.

Like Ally, students do not see your course content accessibility scores. Students only have the option to view alternative formats.

While Panorama is user-friendly, we encourage you to review our Panorama web page to access user training materials and help you get started. Additional information about using Panorama can be found by:

Additionally, we invite you to join our upcoming Panorama Accessibility office hours, where you can connect with a member of the ATI, LMS, or Instructional Design team for any specific questions or additional support regarding Panorama.

  • Monday, March 17, 2025 – 1:30 PM – 3 PM ET – Session Link
  • Tuesday, March 18, 2025 – 10 AM – 11:30 AM ET – Session Link

We are thrilled to provide this valuable resource as we continue our commitment to ensuring accessible and inclusive teaching and learning environments. Thank you for your dedication to supporting all students.

Best,

Korey Singleton
Deputy ADA Coordinator for Accessibility
Office of Access, Compliance, and Community

Joy Taylor
Executive Director
Learning Support Services, ITS

February Canvas Implementation Update: Blackboard Retirement Planning Resources

Dear Colleague,

As we enter the final phase of the transition from Blackboard to Canvas, we want to remind you that spring 2025 is the last semester in which courses can be taught in Blackboard. Starting summer 2025, courses that use the LMS must use Canvas (all sessions). Access to save any content from Blackboard will end on Tuesday, July 15, 2025. To prepare for this transition, please review the new Blackboard Retirement Resources site, which provides details on the following:

  • Manage Blackboard Content: Save any Blackboard materials you need before July 15. Many Blackboard courses have already been migrated to Canvas, and all spring 2025 courses will be migrated to Canvas in May, with one final upcoming chance to request content from past courses. Other migration options are on the course migration site. All semester courses currently in Blackboard, including all student data, will be available by request after July 15.
  • Anticipate Incomplete Grades & Manage Grade Appeals: While spring 2025 courses will be migrated to Canvas at the end of the semester, they will not include student work, and students will not have access to Blackboard after July 15. If you assign an incomplete grade at the end of the semester, download all necessary course materials and relevant activities to facilitate grading once the student completes the requirements. If a student files a grade challenge after the Blackboard sunset date, you may need to submit a request to retrieve student records from the Blackboard archive.

Those who have not yet participated in or reviewed a previous recording, the next virtual Canvas Boot Camp will be February 18 – 20, 2025. Click here to register today.

For additional information about any details above, please visit the Blackboard Retirement Resources site. If you have any questions about the transition, please visit the project website or contact the project team at [email protected].

Thank you for your cooperation as we complete this transition to Canvas.

Charles Kreitzer
Executive Director, Mason Online
Office of the Provost

Joy Taylor
Executive Director, Learning Support Services
Information Technology Services  

Canvas Discussion Grading/Checkpoints

In January, Canvas changed the way discussions are graded via SpeedGrader. This was caused by a newly enabled feature called Discussion Checkpoints which allows multiple Due Dates and Grades for an initial student post vs replies. While the Checkpoint feature was highly requested, Canvas did not inform schools that the option changes the way instructors grade all discussions – not just the ones that use Checkpoints. The Checkpoint option is now off in Canvas.

Now when grading discussion via SpeedGrader, instructors will only see a single student’s posts.

Instructors have reported multiple issues with this new grading and George Mason has now turned the feature off. Discussion grading via SpeedGrader is returned to the previous method – which only shows one student’s posts at a time. Canvas has promised to fix the issue and has a feedback survey for those who want to help shape grading discussions in Canvas.

If you had Checkpoint grading on in a Discussion, here is what changes you will see now that the feature is off:

  • If you had Checkpoints enabled, there is a possibility some student’s posts may not appear in SpeedGrader. Check the Discussion Board directly to confirm all student posts.
  • If you had added separate Due Dates for Post and Replies, these are removed and there will be no due date listed. You can edit the discussion and add a due date.
  • Instructors and students will see a note at the top of discussions that used Checkpoint, indicating the feature is now disabled.
  • Total possible points for the discussion is the same – the points for Reply and Additional replies are added together
  • Student grades remain the same in already graded discussions
  • Student posts that need grading will display and can be graded using the total possible points for that discussion
  • Ensure you tell students the required number of posts/replies; information (due dates and number of required replies) that was automatically added based on Checkpoint settings was removed

If you encounter any issues or have questions, please contact the ITS Support Center.