Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) is a top-ranking British institution which attracts students from over 185 countries and equips them with the skills to succeed in today’s world of work.
Read how Anglia Ruskin University (ARU) worked with Canvas VLE to deliver job-ready skills to non-traditional students through more inclusive online learning.
The Challenge
Prior to adopting Canvas, ARU was operating a custom-built SharePoint-based VLE. While functional, the system required significant internal resources to maintain and adapt, and wasn’t designed with modern digital pedagogy in mind. What’s more, the students’ digital experiences were at odds with both the high-quality physical campus facilities, and the institution’s mission to improve social mobility through more inclusive learning. As such, ARU began exploring more sustainable, scalable, and pedagogically aligned learning platforms.
We have historically always prided ourselves on providing a first-class physical learning environment for students. But in this day and age, the digital learning environment has to be on par with the physical one - otherwise you’re only including the “typical” student who can make it to campus five days a week. We wanted to invest equally in our digital estate - which led us to Canvas VLE.
James Trueman
Associate Professor Academic Lead - Assessment, Anglia Ruskin University
The Decision
Following a thorough tender process that evaluated multiple competitor platforms, Canvas emerged as the preferred solution. The platform scored highest in terms of user experience and met the university’s core criteria, including:
- Cloud-based architecture
- Top-tier vendor support
- Ease of integration with internal systems
- Flexibility for future customisation
- Robust remote learning experiences
When we went to tender, Canvas just kept scoring better... especially on user experience.
James Trueman,
Associate Professor Academic Lead - Assessment, Anglia Ruskin University
The Outcomes
Canvas is now used across all ARU campuses: Chelmsford, Cambridge, Peterborough, and the newly merged Riddle campus.
The delivery of job-ready skills and lifelong learning
Canvas VLE accommodates ARU’s diverse academic portfolio, from traditional disciplines to vocational fields like nursing, teaching, and law, helping ARU to attract a broader pool of learners.
ARU also fosters strong partnerships with local employers. Organisations like the RAF and Harrods are engaged in course design and validation, participate in live briefs, and contribute to student assessments. Canvas VLE supports this kind of collaboration, helping facilitate co-created, authentic lifelong learning experiences to students far and wide.
We’re proud that we've enrolled students who didn’t think education was for them. The ability for these ‘non-traditional’ students to learn flexibly, to juggle studies with other commitments, is crucial. Canvas VLE helps us deliver that flexibility.
James Trueman,
Associate Professor Academic Lead - Assessment, Anglia Ruskin University
Measurable time-savings and smarter assessments
One of ARU’s standout achievements has been the creation of an internally developed assessment dashboard, integrated with Canvas via LTI. This tool, alongside API-powered automation, has delivered measurable administrative and academic efficiencies:
100,000+ hours of admin time saved
through process automation
100,000+ hours of academic time saved
by streamlining marking and feedback workflows
Shift from Turnitin-native interfaces to a unified SpeedGrader experience
We probably saved about 100,000 hours of administrative time, and about the same in academic time… that's 200,000 hours saved in the first 3 years. Educators are now freed up to focus on doing what they do best - delivering exceptional, human-led teaching to their students.
James Trueman,
Associate Professor Academic Lead - Assessment, Anglia Ruskin University
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