Sakai Project Site Transition

Project Status: Transition/Migration Phase

Project Phases 

  • Phase 1: Planning and Communication (Completed)
  • Phase 2: Information Gathering and Discovery (Completed)
  • Phase 3: Identification of Sites and Transition or Migration Support (in progress)

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

  • February 27, 2026: Last day to request WTS assistance for claimed OWL Sakai project sites to guarantee content is moved before access is removed.
  • 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 February 27 deadline?

Early engagement is important! Requests received after February 27 will be queued and worked on in order received. Please submit a request by February 27 so WTS has time to support you before April 30 to avoid losing access to your content.

How is WTS supporting the project site transition?

1:1 Personalized Assistance (Upon Request)

WTS is offering personalized assistance to project site maintainers to assist with the transition. Support must be requested through the WTS Helpdesk (Jira), but follow up can occur via Jira, email, or voicemail (your preference). Remember, support requests must be submitted by February 27, 2026.

REQUEST SUPPORT TODAY

 

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 on 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:

 What are my next steps?

  1. Claim your project site. More information about each type of site and the claims process is available on the Claim Your Project Site page.
  2. 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.
  3. Request support if you need it. Contact the WTS Helpdesk to get support with choosing between alternative solutions, exporting content, and more.
  4. Move content from OWL Sakai by April 30, 2026.