All AACC professors this Fall must use Canvas, the virtual campus, to share their course syllabi and post grades, even for in-person classes.
Professors can also use the system to make announcements and accept homework, but they are not required to do so.
More than 2,000 institutions use the Canvas learning management system, according to the Canvas website.
Dr. Michael Gavin, AACC’s vice president of learning, said the administration designed the mandate to help students. It was announced in February to take effect this Fall.
“Students just need to know where they are [in terms of grades],” said Gavin. He also said it is important for them to be able to look up basic course information “24/7.”
Gavin said the change reflects the college’s recent focus on helping students complete their goals, such as earning degrees, certifications or job placements.
“Which is, believe it or not, for community colleges, a big shift,” said Gavin. “For decades, community colleges were focused [only] on making sure that students got in the door.”
AACC students said they like Canvas, and it’s easy to use.
In an informal poll of 20 students on campus, 14 said they like Canvas, three said they had no problems with it and three prefer traditional paper methods for turning in assignments.
“I love it,” said Alexandra Radovic, a freshman education major. “I think there are a lot of resources on [Canvas] that most students don’t even know about.”
But not all students said they love Canvas.
“I’m not a fan,” said Abdul Barry, a freshman cybersecurity student. “I like writing stuff down old-school.”
The new mandate also requires professors to send out welcome emails to their students along with their course syllabi before the start of classes.