Class: The next generation virtual classroom

What is the Class Collaborate Guided Upgrade Program?

Class has designed a Guided Upgrade Program to support customers interested in upgrading from the Collaborate product to Class 2.0 at no cost to customers. This guided program includes access to (a) a free, limited-use Class 2.0 Discovery trial for all customers, (b) 6 weeks of guided technical implementation and training support, (c) custom resources for Collaborate instructors, administrators, and learners, and (d) cohort webinars, available at varying times, covering topics such as “Understanding Class” functionality through the lens of Collaborate. Customers will participate in a cohort alongside peer institutions upgrading from Collaborate to Class. Cohorts are available to customers each quarter beginning June 2023. 

Cohorts are designed with a phased rollout approach, allowing institutions to implement Class with a small group of instructors before ultimately rolling out Class at scale. The go-live date for a full launch of Class at your institution will be defined in partnership with each institution.

Will I be required to upgrade to Class 2.0? If so, is there a deadline for my institution to upgrade?

Class 2.0 is the combined Collaborate and Class Next Generation Virtual Classroom. Class 2.0 will better support the needs of all Collaborate customers by introducing features Collaborate customers have been waiting on for years, while retaining all the best parts of Collaborate. We are eager to partner closely with you to design a custom upgrade path that meets your institution’s needs and timeline preferences. Any change to the support of Collaborate will include plenty of advance notice. No change in support for the Collaborate product is scheduled at this time.

How do I get access to the Class 2.0 Discovery Platform (Class free trial program)?

The Class 2.0 Discovery Access Platform will be made available to all institutions this April. Each institution will receive 5 default sample accounts (2 instructors and 3 students) at no cost. In addition, each institution will be given a course where you can independently try out Class as an instructor, and test things out with your team. You can continue to use your Class 2.0 Discovery Access platform until you’ve registered for an Upgrade Cohort, where we’ll then provision your own Class instance that can be integrated with your LMS so you can start using Class with real instructors and students. Customers interested in exploring Class with a larger number of instructors are encouraged to join an Upgrade Cohort.

Will I be required to sign a new agreement with Class?

As a part of your upgrade process, we will provide an addendum for your acknowledgement of the upgrade to Class 2.0 honoring your Collaborate contract terms with the same renewal date. The addendum will also require your acknowledgement of Zoom’s Terms of Service for the continued use of the upgraded Class 2.0 platform.

Will my pricing and terms change?

Class is committed to honoring your Collaborate annual contract price and terms.

For Collaborate Customers with existing minutes/usage-based agreements, you will receive unlimited minutes and access to Class for the same total number of annualized active users (combined number of hosts and end users).

For Collaborate Customers with User/FTE-based agreements, you will receive unlimited minutes and access to Class for the same total number of contracted users.

In rare cases of unlimited Collaborate user access, the Class Account Management team will work with your institution to align your FTE model with Class’s available FTE tiers.

Will I be able to use Collaborate during my upgrade?

Yes. During the upgrade project planning, you’ll define a transition period during which you want to keep access to both platforms for your users. It is recommended to make this period somewhat brief (and no more than a semester) in order to avoid confusion for students and instructors and minimize the number of tools they are juggling. You can keep your Collaborate recordings in old courses for longer than this, but for new courses and “live” usage we recommend using a single main tool.

What are the Zoom requirements for utilizing Class?

For customers already utilizing Zoom, Class will integrate seamlessly with your institution’s Zoom instance. This installation type allows for the central access and administration of Zoom and Class, will utilize your Zoom account to power both courses and individual meetings, and allows customers to leverage other Zoom capabilities like Zoom Webinars, Zoom Phone, etc.

For customers who do not have Zoom, we’re building a simpler deployment that is also powered by Zoom on the back-end but removes the front-end Zoom experience. This install method does not allow for the use of Zoom for individual meetings. Institutions wanting to upgrade to their own Zoom license for the full feature set of Zoom can buy through Class at a discounted rate.