Case Study: Middlesbrough College achieves 97% VLE adoption and a more consistent, user-friendly learning experience with Instructure's Canvas

Middlesbrough College - Customer Case Study

Middlesbrough College, the largest further education provider in Teesside serving 12,500 users, faced growing staff and student dissatisfaction with a 14‑year‑old Blackboard VLE and needed a more consistent, user‑centric platform to prepare students for the workplace and reduce administrative burden. After a pedagogy‑led procurement process and site visits, the college chose Instructure’s Canvas for its ease of use, clean interface and Office 365/app integrations.

Instructure supported a smooth rollout of Canvas with regular customer-team contact, training (Canvas Basics Parts 1 and 2), and a Curriculum 360 pilot to ease pressures during an Ofsted inspection; teachers started fresh by rebuilding courses, which accelerated adoption. The result: a 97% adoption rate in the first year across 12,500 users, faster uptake than the legacy system, and improved usability, flexibility and consistent assessment and feedback.

Middlesbrough College

James Wells

Head of Digital Curriculum