Dear Trojan Community,
I want to express my appreciation for your valuable contributions towards USC’s mission of delivering teaching and learning excellence. Adapting to the evolving needs of our faculty and students remains a central aspect of our pedagogy. We are committed to ensuring our technology upholds our standards as one of the world’s leading academic institutions.
I am pleased to share the upcoming launch of a new Learning Management System (LMS) that will replace Blackboard as of our summer 2024 term.
The decision comes after extensive review of available platforms by the LMS Assessment Committee in 2022. The Committee selected Brightspace by D2L as USC’s new platform based on a few priority attributes:
- User-friendly design
- Robust accessibility standards
- Customer support offerings
Schools and academic units currently using Blackboard will migrate to the new LMS for summer 2024. Academic units and schools that do not use Blackboard to manage courses today will manage their courses as usual.
The LMS Replacement program is a collaborative effort between the Office of the Provost, Information Technology Services, Enrollment Services, academic units, faculty, and students. The program team’s priority is to facilitate the transition with minimal impact or disruption to education and research. I encourage you to collaborate with this team as champions for change among peers and colleagues. There will be ample opportunities to engage, learn, and explore the new LMS platform in the coming months; keep an eye out for more communications on these opportunities in the future.
Learn More about USC’s New LMS
To learn more about Brightspace, visit our new website, with the latest news, ways to get involved, and frequently asked questions (FAQs). Additional details will be released in the upcoming weeks, so I encourage you to bookmark this site and regularly check for updates.
Your active participation is crucial to the successful implementation of this transformative technology as we continue to strive for our pursuit of teaching and learning excellence.
Thank you for your support.
Sincerely,
Andrew T. Guzman
Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs
cc: Office of the President
Academic Deans
President’s Senior Leadership Team
Provost’s Leadership Team
Academic Senate