Sakai Project Sites Transition Information
Overview
The Sakai Project Site Transition ensures all required project site content from over 23,000 existing OWL Sakai project sites is moved to appropriate alternative solutions by April 30, 2026, when access to OWL Sakai will be removed for the general Western community.
The only exception is active research project sites. These will retain temporary access beyond April 30, 2026, until a suitable alternative (e.g. REDCap) is available and a transition timeline is identified. Please visit the Information for Research Site Maintainers page for important information on the Research Project Site transition.
The information that follows is for non-research project sites and research project sites that are for archive only.
Important Deadlines
- April 30, 2026: Final day of general access to OWL Sakai by the Western community.
- May 1, 2026: Access to OWL Sakai removed for the general Western community.
What happens if I miss the April 30 deadline?
You will lose access to your content. You can contact the WTS Helpdesk for support exporting your content from OWL Sakai. Requests received after April 30 will be queued and worked on in order received.
How is WTS supporting the project site transition?
1:1 Personalized Assistance (Upon Request)
WTS can help with:
- Determining the best alternative solution for your content.
- Creating export files for local storage or alternative solutions.
- Supporting the importing or movement of content to WTS-supported solutions.
- Consultation on eligibility of site content to move to OWL Brightspace if eligibility is unclear. See Migration Eligibility Requirements.
- Connecting you to archiving options (for research data) through Western Libraries.
Self-Service Resources
WTS has a variety of self-service resources including:
- Guidance for exporting content from OWL Sakai.
- Exmaples of project sites and centrally-supported alternatives.
- Data collection, collaboration, and data storage too .
What are my next steps?
- Claim your project site. More information about each type of site and the claims process is available on the Claim Your Project Site page.
- Project Sites must have a current Western (or Affiliate) Employee in the "Maintain" role. You can assign or remove the "Maintain" role to your project site through the Site Info tab. Please contact the WTS Helpdesk for assistance if you don't have access to make this change.
- Engage with us. Active engagement from site maintainers is essential to a successful transition. Because there is no single replacement that meets all use cases, your collaboration is essential to ensure content is transferred in a way that meets your needs.
- Request support if you need it. Contact the WTS Helpdesk to get support with choosing between alternative solutions, exporting content, and more.
- Move content from OWL Sakai by April 30, 2026.
Looking for information about Supplementary Courses?
A Supplementary Course is a type of course in OWL Brightspace used to host and/or manage content such as prototype courses, training courses, shareable learning modules, and other supplementary academic content.
Learn more about Supplementary Courses and how to request one here.
