Blackboard filed for bankruptcy. Canvas is taking its customers. The VLE market in UK higher education is reshaping faster than at any point in the past decade.
The collapse of Anthology, Blackboard's parent company, into Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings has accelerated a shift that was already under way. Imperial College and the University of Manchester both moved to Canvas this academic year. The market is moving, and the student data implications are larger than most coverage suggests.
Anthology, the company behind Blackboard, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the final quarter of 2025. The company has indicated plans to emerge as a debt-free entity rebranded as Blackboard Inc, but the reputational and operational disruption generated by the bankruptcy process has been significant, and its impact on UK higher education procurement decisions has been immediate. Two of the most prominent VLE switches of the 2025 to 2026 academic year, at Imperial College London and the University of Manchester, both involved institutions moving away from Blackboard. The analysis is documented