Two Institutions, One Challenge
This session combines two distinct perspectives on the same journey: migrating away from a long-standing Sakai LMS installation to Canvas. The decision is made, the contracts are signed — but moving LMSs is hardly a singular event. It presents itself as a series of shifts between two dynamic systems over months, requiring careful attention to content migration, faculty support, and institutional culture.
Brushstrokes of Change: The Claremont Colleges
For nearly 20 years, the Claremont Colleges shared a singular, self-hosted installation of Sakai LMS. Starting in fall of 2023, each individual campus began a slow, measured process of onboarding faculty to Canvas LMS while also assisting with importing their existing Sakai course materials. This panel — comprising IT support staff from CMC, Pitzer, Scripps, and Pomona — discusses the challenges and best practices learned throughout this multi-year, multi-campus transition.
In the Messy Middle: Mount Holyoke College
Mount Holyoke College, preparing for a Fall 2026 broad launch of Canvas, shares lessons learned from more than a year of preparation, planning, and pilots. The established platform carries years of instructor content and living processes that must be carried forward. The new platform needs adjustment, introduction, and troubleshooting to become a comfortable home for learning and teaching.
Key Topics Across Both Perspectives
- How an LMS migration breaks down into major stages — and how each stage demands different expertise
- Fine-grained data decisions that arise during transition and how to make them effectively
- Project management strategies for keeping an LMS transition on track over months
- The unique challenges of a shared, multi-campus Sakai installation versus a single-institution migration
- How to strengthen faculty and student support through collaborative training and shared practices
Learning Outcomes
- Consider how an LMS migration breaks down into major stages and how those stages apply to your own institution's situation.
- Learn best practices for faculty and student transition support through collaborative communication and shared training practices.
- Gain insight into project management strategies for keeping a long-horizon LMS transition on track across competing institutional priorities.