Diffusing Change: Implementing a University-Wide Learning Management System Transition at a Public University

Abstract

In July 2012, the University of Wyoming’s (UW) Office of Academic Affairs appointed a Learning Management System (LMS) review committee to lead an open, university-wide review of LMS products and services. The transition would not only effect a substantial change in technology, it would lead to a wholesale cultural shift. Two years after the committee’s inception, the university had completed a full-scale transition to a single learning management system.

In this chapter, we discuss how UW designed and enacted a university-wide change in essential technology from selection to implementation. In contrast to the widespread technical and social anxiety we anticipated, the LMS transition was virtually painless; in fact, it significantly increased buy-in and satisfaction among students, faculty, and administrators. Moreover, the transition catalyzed interest and participation in faculty development programs for face-to-face, distance, and adjunct instructors. It also launched many new initiatives, both related and unrelated to the LMS. The LMS committee continues to oversee daily operations of the LMS as well as several spin-off projects using the new platform.