Situation
Cranfield University sits within the top 1% of business schools worldwide, with a reputation built on innovation, quality, and strong industry relevance. Its core audience is busy professional learners who expect education to fit around demanding careers.
For these learners, the online experience is critical. It must be seamless, flexible, and reliable, allowing them to study at their own pace, from wherever they are. Just as importantly, it must be future ready, able to evolve alongside new teaching models and emerging education technology.
Several years ago, the team at Cranfield recognised that their LMS, the foundation of the online learning experience, was no longer supporting these needs. Instead of enabling learning, it was beginning to pose a risk to student success and the University’s competitive position.
Insights
Cranfield was using a long-established legacy LMS that struggled to support the blended, stackable, mobile, and intuitive learning experience its executive audience expected. The platform regularly disrupted teaching and learning, becoming a frequent source of complaints from both learners and course teams.
There were also growing concerns about reliability and direction. The LMS was nearing the end of its life, and the required upgrade path was expensive, time-bound, and offered little clarity around long-term investment or product roadmap. Rather than feeling like a stable foundation, the system introduced uncertainty and additional workload.
Cranfield recognised that an LMS should be the most stable part of the digital ecosystem. It should support learning, integrate with wider systems, and give the institution confidence that it could meet both current needs and future demands.
If we were going to pay to upgrade our legacy LMS anyway, it made sense to stop and ask if we actually had the right solution. We wanted something we could trust long-term, and that’s why we switched to Canvas LMS.
Graham Bell
Director of Digital Education, Cranfield University School of Management
Solution
Rather than attempting a full-scale replacement in one move, Cranfield took a measured, low-risk approach by starting with a pilot. This allowed teams to test Canvas LMS in live programmes, build confidence, and demonstrate value without disrupting the wider institution.
Running an initial pilot with executive education programmes, where flexibility, clarity, and ease of use mattered most
Expanding quickly as confidence grew, including adding MSc programmes earlier than planned
Working closely with IT to integrate Canvas LMS with existing systems, which proved far simpler than expected
This approach significantly reduced the risk typically associated with switching LMS. It also helped secure early buy-in from stakeholders, supported by senior leadership who recognised that standing still was no longer an option.
Starting with a pilot took a lot of the fear out of switching. People could see that Canvas LMS was a necessary change. What’s more, it worked better, wouldn’t be disruptive, and it would protect our reputation in the market.
Graham Bell
Director of Digital Education, Cranfield University School of Management
Outcome
After moving to Canvas LMS, Cranfield saw clear and practical benefits across the institution.
- Usability improved immediately. Both learners and faculty found the platform easier to navigate. Content was clearer, better organised, and easier to access. Students stopped getting lost, and faculty stopped placing materials in inconsistent locations, meaning both could get back to learning and teaching.
- Complaints dropped sharply. One senior programme director reported that complaints about the LMS, which had previously taken up a significant amount of time, effectively stopped once Canvas was in place.
- The University gained confidence in its digital foundation. Canvas proved stable, reliable, and predictable. The full transition across the University took around a year and was largely non-disruptive, which helped reinforce trust in the decision.
For Cranfield, switching to Canvas LMS was not just about replacing one system with another. It was about choosing a stable, future-ready platform that could support the University’s strategy for the next decade.
Canvas now provides:
- A reliable and predictable LMS, without forced change or uncertainty
- A clear foundation for blended, executive, and postgraduate learning
- A digital experience that reflects Cranfield’s reputation and ambition
For institutions still weighing short-term fixes against long-term confidence, Cranfield’s experience shows the value of choosing an LMS that is built for stability, usability, and sustained innovation rather than constant compromise.