Financial experts agree that the price of the switch is remarkably small for the amount of inconvenience it will provide.
A report released by the University’s Annual Budget Committee claims that the coming switch from CTools to Canvas will be the University’s least expensive waste of money in many years.
Stacey Knowles, the head of the budget committee, said, “While the practical benefits of switching to Canvas will be almost completely eclipsed by inconvenience and confusion, this will happen at a fraction of the price of other University projects.”
Knowles cited the construction of a new graduate housing complex and the University’s continued expansion of the Ross School of Business as “far more expensive” wastes of money. “Compared to those sorts of money drains, the switch to Canvas is a pittance,” she said.
Economics researcher Linda Hua said, “Not only is the Canvas switch relatively inexpensive, it also has hardly any negative externalities.” Hua predicts that “mild annoyance” of Canvas users will be the only notable externality, which “pales in comparison” to the consequences of other university expenditures.
Lead Canvas programmer Mike Raup said, “Yeah, a couple of my coworkers and I threw the website together in a couple months. I convinced them to give me about five grand, which is way more than it’s worth.” However, relative to the cost of such ventures as the creation of Relationship Remix and funding for entrepreneurship programs, this is a small sum.
