An Important Update on Canvas Convergence: Faculty Access Begins in March
- published: 2026/03/24
- contact: Jaci Lindburg - University of Nebraska (NU) System ITS
- email: jlindburg@nebraska.edu
The University of Nebraska (NU) System is making improvements to its digital learning management (Canvas) ecosystem. A steering committee and a technical team have been assembled to implement a single, unified Canvas environment for students and faculty to use across all campuses at NU. For more details, please visit the Canvas launch web page.
Led by Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. David Jackson and supported by NU ITS, the Canvas Convergence project will bring together the campuses of UNK, UNL, UNO and UNMC into one integrated platform. The single Canvas instance will be a significant improvement for students, faculty, and academic leaders who regularly teach, learn and engage across multiple NU campuses.
Many individuals have been involved in making this project a reality, including helpful feedback that has been received from faculty, staff and students along the way.
This new Canvas environment will first be used for courses in the Fall 2026 semester. Many faculty like to begin building fall course content well ahead of time, so the new instance of Canvas will be made available to faculty on March 23.
Faculty will also be able to access prior course material that is housed in the current instances of Canvas. The ITS technical team will be copying six semesters of course materials into the new instance: Fall 2024 and Spring/Summer/Fall 2025 are being copied over now, with copies of Spring/Summer 2026 courses being moved approximately two weeks after each semester completes.
If there is a need to reference material outside of these terms or if faculty would like to copy over additional material, the current instances of Canvas will continue to be available for faculty to request the ITS technical team to move content on their behalf. A self-service option to move this older material is also available.
Current courses that are being taught in the Spring or Summer 2026 semesters remain in the current campus-specific instances of Canvas and are unaffected by this change.
Faculty support for the new Canvas environment is significantly enhanced with multiple options ranging from emailing the team directly at its-lmsteam@nebraska.edu, to making an in-person appointment on the UNK, UNL, UNO or UNMC campuses, to joining a live Zoom drop-in room (9 A.M. – 4 P.M. weekdays) for real-time faculty support, screen sharing, and troubleshooting.
Users can bookmark canvas.nebraska.edu and begin using this page starting March 23 to login to current instances of Canvas for Spring/Summer 2026 and prior courses, to login to the new Canvas environment for Fall 2026 courses and to access helpful information about support resources, trainings, integrated tools, and procedures.
Canvas Convergence Project to Launch in Fall 2026
Originally shared on Dec. 5, 2025
A new initiative is underway to unify the University of Nebraska’s four for-credit Canvas Learning Management System instances into a single, systemwide environment—creating a more seamless experience for faculty and students alike.
Led by Interim Executive Vice President and Provost Dr. David Jackson and supported by NU ITS, the Canvas Convergence project will bring together the campuses of UNK, UNL, UNO, UNMC and NCTA into one integrated platform. This strategic move will enhance collaboration, reduce redundancy and improve student/faculty support across our academic community.
Faculty will be able to begin accessing and exploring the new Canvas environment starting in March 2026, with full student implementation for Fall 2026 courses. The project will maintain familiar Canvas features while adding valuable systemwide functionality—especially for those who teach or take classes across multiple campuses. Faculty will not lose access to course materials from prior semesters and that there will be multiple options for retrieving that content on an ongoing basis. Students should see no difference at all in how they interact with and access Canvas.
This work reflects the University of Nebraska’s commitment to innovation and stewardship, and supports our broader goal of delivering a “frictionless student experience” as outlined in the University’s Odyssey to Extraordinary strategic plan.
More details—including transition timelines and training opportunities—will be shared in early 2026. In the meantime, questions may be directed to Dr. Jackson or Technical Project Lead Dr. Jaci Lindburg at NU ITS.