Virtual Learning Environment (VLE) Licence Renewal

A direct award of Blackboard Ultra for a five-year term on the basis that a change of supplier would result in disproportionate technical difficulties, significant operational disruption, and avoidable additional cost.

The current Virtual Learning Environment is deeply embedded within core teaching, learning, and assessment systems. Transitioning to an alternative supplier would require substantial system reconfiguration, data migration, and staff retraining, introducing material delivery risk and placing considerable strain on internal resources.

This risk is heightened by the number of concurrent digital and infrastructure projects currently underway. A supplier change would adversely impact delivery timelines, create duplication of effort, and increase the likelihood of service disruption for both staff and students.

A transition would also result in diseconomies of scale, including duplicated implementation costs, parallel system support, and loss of efficiencies associated with the existing platform and established expertise.

The proposed five-year agreement ensures continuity and stability of service while supporting delivery of wider strategic objectives. It also represents value for money, delivering a cost saving across the longer contract term.