The University uses Anthology’s Blackboard Learn for our HuskyCT learning management system (LMS).  The legacy environment is Learn Original, but Anthology introduced Learn Ultra as a successor product.  UConn offers courses in both environments, but as of 2023, most courses were in Original Course View.

Anthology is actively investing in the development of Ultra only and will eventually cease all support for Original as it is retired.  As an institution, we made the decision to begin systematically moving from Original to Ultra.  The assessment, planning, and migration represent a roughly two-year timeframe. We planned to move Fall 2024 1000 and 2000 level courses to Ultra by the start of the semester, Spring and Summer 2025 1000 and 2000 courses before they begin, and upper-level courses in the 2025-26 academic year.  By proceeding on our own timeline, the process would be metered, and we would avoid an urgent mass transition precipitated by the eventual formal deprecation of Original.

We are happy to report that with the combined efforts of ITS, CETL, and university instructors, we effectively met our first ambitious goal; with only a few exceptions, 1000 and 2000 level courses offered this fall were in Ultra.  These courses serve a large number of our students and notably, are taken by incoming students.  This means that the overwhelming majority of our first- and second-year students will have all of their coursework going forward delivered in the Ultra environment.

We truly appreciate the efforts of ITS HuskyCT staff, EdTech, e-Campus, and university instructors to move this project forward.   We are confident that this effective partnership will successfully complete this initiative.

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