USC is an incredible school filled with thousands of hardworking professors and students. The Trojan Family is constantly being inspired by stories of hard work, determination, and success in almost every aspect of work and life. Why then, is USC so hesitant to make a switch from Blackboard to Canvas, despite an overwhelming amount of support from the student body over many years? We think the answer is institutional laziness, and a growing disconnect between the student body and administrators at USC. Thus, we call on USC to follow the lead of thousands of universities to switch to Canvas for their online classroom services, in support of the well-being of their students and faculty.

Since its release in 1997, usership of Blackboard has steadily declined from 90% to just 23%, a percentage that continues to decrease every year. It is widely regarded by professors and students as outdated, buggy, confusing, disorganized, and incredibly frustrating to use. The Blackboard mobile app is also practically unusable, which makes on-the-go use pretty much impossible.

Across the United States, students in higher education love canvas as an alternative. It's user interfaces are simple, clean, organized, high-tech, and everything that a modern university should strive for. As a transfer student here at USC, I have experienced first hand university life with both Canvas and Blackboard. I can say that, without a doubt, switching to Blackboard has made my motivation and productivity fall dramatically while increasing my levels of stress and anxiety. Even on a modern laptop, I am often unable to check my course grade, download class materials, or find important documents.

The switch is very doable, as seen by the very recent switch from Blackboad to Canvas by Chapman university! Why are so many schools switching? Because many of them are waking up to the reality that a clean and organized interface can work wonders for student productivity and happiness. USC is always talking about mental health awareness and student well-being, so let us present a perfect opportunity to show us that these goals are truly important to you. Please, make the Trojan Family proud and show your student body that the administration truly lives up to its core values of hardwork and determination by switching to Canvas!

USC Student Survey data and figures coming soon!