Vanderbilt CMS Selection Process

The Center for Teaching, as the administrative home for Blackboard, Vanderbilt’s primary course management system (CMS), launched a needs assessment and vendor selection process for Vanderbilt’s next CMS in March 2016. This process informed Vanderbilt’s decision to adopt Brightspace by D2L as its primary course management system, beginning in summer 2017.

The process included a campuswide needs assessment survey completed by more than 1,000 students and faculty, public vendor demonstrations, and pilots of Brightspace and other systems under consideration. A selection committee consisting of students, faculty and staff from all 10 Vanderbilt colleges and schools reviewed the results of this process and recommended that Vanderbilt adopt Brightspace as its next course management system.

The committee’s recommendation was approved by the Provost, and formal contract negotiations, led by Vanderbilt Information Technology, occurred during the Fall 2016 semester. With a contract in hand, the Center for Teaching, as the administrative home of Vanderbilt’s CMS, led the implementation phase, launching Brightspace at Vanderbilt in April 2017. For more information on Brightspace and the transition from Blackboard, see the CFT’s Brightspace support site.