McGraw Hill Unveils Next Gen Integration for its Connect Digital Learning Platform and Learning Management Systems at Colleges & Universities

NEW YORK, N.Y.  (June 29, 2021) – McGraw Hill today announced a comprehensive update to the digital architecture underlying the company’s seamless integrations with widely used learning management systems (LMS) like Blackboard Learn and Ultra, Instructure Canvas, D2L Brightspace, Moodle, and more. The upgrade will make it even easier for the tens of thousands of instructors and millions of students who use McGraw Hill Connect® and ALEKS® to access their digital course materials and assignments through their LMS. It will also be easier for LMS administrators on college campuses to manage.

The updated service-oriented architecture, which is designed specifically to adhere to IMS Global’s latest and most rigorous LTI® Advantage standards for ed tech integrations, and certified by IMS Global, will be piloted this summer and subsequently launched more widely to millions of users in 2022. 

To ensure that LTI Advantage is leveraged to the fullest extent possible, McGraw Hill commissioned an independent review to evaluate the work. Unicon, a digital learning consulting firm with industry leading expertise in LTI implementation, conducted a study of the program that included a review of the source code, meetings with McGraw Hill developers and leaders, and a careful reading of all integration-focused documentation and supporting materials. The results demonstrated that McGraw Hill’s adoption of and adherence to LTI standards far surpasses the capabilities of other platforms in the marketplace. 

"We found McGraw Hill’s program to be best in breed across integration architecture, standards support and implementation as well as administration tooling," Unicon wrote in its report. "This new architecture and McGraw Hill’s integrations team are advancing…the entire industry and ensuring the best possible experience for students and educators."

By leveraging LTI Advantage services, McGraw Hill redefines customer expectations for a fully integrated teaching and learning environment featuring frictionless movement between any LTI-compliant LMS or digital learning tool, and McGraw Hill’s Connect digital learning platform. Users will be protected with enhanced security and student privacy, while enjoying a more seamless experience that provides increased flexibility facilitated by interoperability patterns defined by IMS Global.

"This latest upgrade enables us to deliver a more elegant learning experience for students, faculty, and administrators," said Michael Ryan, president of McGraw Hill’s Higher Education division. "The development of this software is indicative of our commitment to continually improving our products and adopting and implementing industry standards to provide best in class solutions for our customers."

During the COVID-19 pandemic, use of McGraw Hill’s Connect platform grew significantly with more than 6 million student activations globally in the last year.

"As schools rapidly transitioned to digital this past year, their need for platforms to integrate seamlessly and easily became even more important," said Dr. Rob Abel, CEO of IMS Global Learning Consortium. "We are pleased that McGraw Hill has achieved LTI Advantage Complete certification, creating enhanced interoperability, data security, and learning experiences for users."

To learn more about McGraw Hill LMS integrations, visit: https://www.mheducation.com/highered/lms-integration.html