Changing a learning management system (LMS) is a high-stakes decision that affects every layer of an educational institution. In the webinar “Leaving the Uncertainty Behind: From Blackboard to D2L Brightspace,” a panel of global education leaders shared firsthand experiences of transitioning from Blackboard to Brightspace. Their stories were honest and practical and inspiring—especially for other institutions considering a similar move.
Panelists:
- Lacey Geiger, senior systems analyst (Missouri State University)
- Lynn Zayac, director, center for instructional technology (Westfield State University)
- Dr. Carmen Miles, digital education strategic lead (De Montfort University)
- Jos in den Bosch, team leader, education innovation with ICT (Radboud University)
Moderator: Danielle Burt, senior solutions engineer, D2L
We’ve captured the key takeaways from the discussion, highlighting the motivations behind the switch, the strategies that made these transitions successful, and the tangible benefits our speakers have witnessed since adopting Brightspace.
Exceptional Support: A Key Driver for Change
A recurring theme among the panelists was the stark contrast in customer support between Blackboard and Brightspace. For many, dissatisfaction with Blackboard’s support was a major catalyst for change.
Lynn Zayac, who led the transition for Massachusetts College Online, described her experience with Blackboard’s help desk as “atrocious,” citing unresolved tickets and a lack of accountability. “They would just close a ticket and ask for more information when we submitted it again,” she said. “It really seemed like a money grab.”
Jos in den Bosch shared that poor support was also the primary reason Radboud University decided to move on. After interviewing faculty, he discovered that only a small group wanted to stay with Blackboard—those who had spent countless hours outside of work learning how to navigate its complexities. “They had invested so much of their personal time just to make it work,” he explained, “because it was too complicated to manage during regular hours.” den Bosch also shared an alarming statistic: eight years ago, all 13 universities in the Netherlands used Blackboard. Now, none of them do.
Zayac described the support from Brightspace as proactive, responsive and deeply collaborative. “Brightspace has an amazing team of professionals,” she noted. “From sales to implementation and training, they walk you through every step with a team that goes above and beyond.”
At Missouri State University, Lacey Geiger echoed this. She highlighted how D2L’s implementation team adapted to Missouri State’s specific needs. “They were flexible and let us pivot where we needed to,” she said. “That kind of customizable support made a huge difference.”
For institutions navigating the complexities of LMS migration, the message was clear: great support isn’t just helpful—it’s essential.
Other Reasons Why Institutions Chose to Leave Blackboard
For many institutions, the decision to leave Blackboard stemmed from a growing disconnect between the platform’s capabilities and their evolving needs.
Zayac didn’t beat around the bush when it came to Blackboard Ultra.
“The Ultra product, and I’m going to be very frank, was a clunker. The tools were not new or innovative, and many of them were in development or honestly did not work.”
She also cited a lack of responsiveness from the vendor as an ongoing concern. “They weren’t listening to their customers,” she said, adding that unresolved support tickets and questionable sales practices further eroded trust.
Geiger faced similar frustrations. Her team struggled with opaque storage costs and outdated media tools. “We had a massive bill for storage,” she explained, “and Blackboard couldn’t even tell us where the data was being used.”
For Dr. Carmen Miles at De Montfort University, the decision was strategic. The institution needed an LMS that aligned with its goals around lifelong learning and digital transformation. After 20 years with Blackboard, it was time for a change.
A Smooth and Accelerated Transition
Despite the scale of the change, all four institutions reported faster-than-expected transitions, with some completing the migration in under a year.
Zayac’s team signed their contract in October and had their first program live by December. By May, they were fully online. “We didn’t have a large staff,” she noted, “but we were determined to leave Blackboard as soon as possible.”
Geiger’s team took a similar approach, turning their evaluation group into early adopters. “They had a great first experience,” she said, “and it helped us refine the rollout for the rest of the faculty.”
At Radboud, den Bosch initially planned for an 18-month migration. But when faculty expressed interest in switching immediately, the timeline was cut in half. “We trained staff, ran pilots and migrated everything in nine months,” he said.
Dr. Miles emphasized the importance of internal alignment. When she joined the project, it was seen as a technical implementation. She reframed it as a teaching and learning transformation and that shift helped secure buy-in across departments and leadership.
D2L’s Danielle Burt, who was moderating the webinar, took a moment to highlight the importance of flexibility: “Every institution is different. Brightspace allows for personalized implementations that meet your unique goals.”
Features That Delivered Real Value
While Brightspace offers a wide range of features, panelists agreed that usability, flexibility and data access were the most transformative.
At Missouri State, the Media Library was a standout D2L feature. Faculty had previously relied on tools like YouTube and Microsoft Stream, but doing so created access and privacy issues. Brightspace’s built-in media tools allowed for secure, captioned and streamable content—all within the LMS. “It was a complete game changer,” Geiger said.
She also praised the platform’s customization options. Her team could assign different homepages and navigation bars to departments without increasing administrative overhead. “Everybody could still have their own branding and feel,” she explained, “without a massive workload for me.”
Analytics were another major win. Missouri State’s deans now have real-time access to reports showing course activity, syllabus uploads and more. “We never had that visibility,” Geiger noted.
Dr. Miles highlighted automation as a key efficiency gain. Her team used Brightspace to pre-populate modules with standardized layouts, welcome messages and handbooks—saving faculty hours of manual work. “It brought consistency and saved time,” she said. Grade pass-back to the student information system also reduced errors and eliminated redundant data entry.
den Bosch pointed out that the biggest difference wasn’t in the features themselves—it was in how accessible they were. Faculty who had struggled with Blackboard found themselves exploring and adopting new tools in Brightspace with ease. “It’s much more engaging for teachers,” he said.
A Change Management Approach That Built Confidence
Each institution approached change management with intention. They recognized that beyond just training, supporting a successful adoption required building trust and keeping the lines of communication open.
Dr. Miles structured her rollout around building readiness and confidence. Her team ran workshops such as “Build a Module” and “Art of the Possible” to help faculty design courses from scratch and explore new pedagogical approaches. “We focused on what they wanted to do with their modules,” she said, “not just how to use the platform.”
Zayac’s team launched a campaign divided into three phases, aptly titled “Brightspace Is Coming,” “Brightspace Training” and “Brightspace Is Here.” They used a combination of targeted emails, social media, student ambassadors and even campus tours to raise awareness. A student intern helped design promotional materials, and a dedicated tutorial site was created to support students in the first days of the new term.
She also emphasized the importance of student engagement. Her team set up tables at campus events and worked with student government to promote the new LMS. “We even had Brightspace featured in new student tours,” she said.
Geiger credited D2L’s training resources for making the process seamless. Faculty attended live webinars hosted by D2L, and those who needed more support received one-on-one help from instructional designers. “The training from D2L was phenomenal,” she said.
A Tangible Impact on Teaching and Learning
The most powerful stories came from the impact that Brightspace had on teaching and learning.
den Bosch shared a moment that moved everyone: a professor who had taught a large, 500-student course for years with little student engagement came into his office in tears. After switching to Brightspace and using tools like intelligent agents, the professor saw a dramatic shift—students were motivated, engaged and eager to learn. “He said Brightspace had changed everything,” Jos recalled.
At Missouri State, many faculty chose to rebuild their courses from scratch rather than rely on converted Blackboard content. “What they built in Brightspace was so far ahead of what came over from Blackboard,” Geiger shared, “that they asked me to delete the old content.”
Dr. Miles noted that Brightspace’s intelligent agents are already supporting student retention, but that the biggest change they’re pleased with is grade pass back. Being able to automatically feed grades into their backend system means they don’t have to be manually entered several times, which reduces human error and saves time.
“These aren’t one-year investments,” Burt pointed out. “They’re 10, 15, 20-year partnerships. And Brightspace is built to evolve with you.”
More Than a Platform Change
The transition from Blackboard to Brightspace is more than a platform change—it’s a strategic shift toward a more engaging, efficient and future-ready learning environment. As the panelists made clear, with the right planning, support and mindset, institutions can set themselves up to thrive.
Whether you’re just beginning to explore new LMS options or are deep into your migration journey, the experiences shared in this webinar offer a clear message: the future of learning is more intuitive, more connected and more empowering with Brightspace.
Explore the D2L difference or watch the full webinar on-demand now.
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