A brand new platform for Cerritos College is coming in the next couple of months, and it will leave teachers and students with a brand new canvas to work with.

Faculty Senate got together on Tuesday, Nov. 24 and spent a large part of the meeting discussing Canvas and Talonnet.

Talonnet has been the go-to source for teachers to give students assignments, resources, and grades.

However, for the better part of a year Cerritos has been looking to make a transition from Talonnet (Sakai) to Canvas.

Canvas provides a similar platform to the Sakai site.

Librarian Stephanie Rosenblatt spoke about Canvas and even put together a chart comparing the Sakai system and Canvas.

When the functions of both programs were compared, Canvas beat Sakai in a majority of them.

The functions that were compared included importing external course content and using a rubric during grading.

“All divisions and 32 departments tried Canvas, and 80% were satisfied,” said Rosenblatt.

She continued by explaining the benefits of Canvas.

Something that caught many of the senator’s attention was the fact that Canvas had an easier way to change the calendar system automatically.

Professors would also be able to email students individually, or in a group, rather than the entire class.

The only major concern with Canvas was how much it would cost.

The cost of the transition was still undetermined.

That however, did not stop the senate from voting yes to make the switch to Canvas.

The move will take place over the next 18 months.

“Canvas is easier to use. Something Canvas has that Talonnet doesn’t is a lot of help,” said Rosenblatt.

The by-laws of the faculty senate were brought back after they had been revised.

The senate seemed to approve Article 2 of the documents, unlike the previous version.

However, Article 5 of the document was met with concern.

Article 5 focused on the liaison positions in the senate.

There was confusion about the wording of the document among other concerns.

The by-laws were be taken into consideration for another change.

Vice President of Academic Affairs Joanna Schilling spoke about the status of student equity.

She focused on the process of hiring new tutors for the Success Center.

“The tutors will be chosen from Cerritos and the department,” said Schilling.

The senate moved the 16-week schedule discussion for the next meeting.