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Legacy Sakai Project Sites

Overview

As part of our institution’s ongoing efforts to modernize and streamline academic technologies, the University has transitioned from the Sakai learning management system (LMS) to Canvas. While Pepperdine Canvas offers significant improvements in features, usability, integration, and support, the platform does not natively support some legacy features previously available in Sakai — most notably, project sites.

In Sakai, project sites were widely used across the institution to support non-instructional activities such as faculty and staff committees, research groups, administrative collaboration, co-curricular initiatives, and other academic or professional functions. These sites offered a centralized space for communication, file sharing, and coordination outside of official academic courses.

All community members have options to back up their content. Review the details below to determine next steps.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Users may continue to use their legacy project sites in Courses/Sakai for the Spring 2026 term. Community access to Courses/Sakai will end by June 2026.

 

3-Step Process

Step 1Review Sakai Project Sites

Go to Courses/Sakai, select "Worksite Setup" from the "Home" site, and choose "Project Sites" from the filter drop-down menu. Select "Apply View and Term" to see all project sites.

Step 2Evaluate Eligibility

Sakai may have been chosen for a project because other collaborative solutions didn't exist yet. Today, please consider whether Google Workspace, a website, or another location may be a better destination. Be aware: Not all Sakai project sites are eligible for migration to Pepperdine Canvas.

Step 3Decide on Action

After reviewing the site content and the LMS eligibility, determine the best action:

 

 

Step 1: Review Old Courses/Sakai Project Sites

Please consider the following questions when you review content from your old Sakai project sites:

  1. Do you still need it? If the purpose has been fulfilled or the project has been completed, you may no longer need the site or its materials.
  2. Is the content accessible? Does the web content, any documents, media, or other materials meet digital accessibility guidelines and University policy? Refer to the Faculty Resources for Digital Accessibility.
  3. Do you already have copies of the material? You may have uploaded content from your computer or copied the material into other sites. Determine if a backup of the content is needed.
  4. Does the site include videos in Sakai "Resources"? Avoid uploading videos directly into any LMS. Please relocate academic and training videos to an appropriate place, such as Pepperdine Panopto or a Google Shared Drive, then embed videos into an LMS or website. Don't forget to provide captions!

Tips for Reviewing Sites in Sakai

  • Go to Courses/Sakai, choose Worksite Setup from the Home site.
  • Choose Project sites from the View drop-down menu, and then select Apply View and Term.
  • Adjust the Show items drop-down menu to view up to 200 sites on a single page.
  • Use the Creation Date table header to sort in ascending (oldest to newest) or descending (newest to oldest) order.
  • Right-click the site title to choose to open the site in a new tab or window.
 

Step 2: Pepperdine Canvas Eligibility Guidelines

As you determine the appropriate location for your site content, please consider the following Pepperdine Canvas eligibility items:

  • Is it a supported academic purpose? Migration to Pepperdine Canvas will be limited to approved academic purposes and select training sites. Not all academic uses will be supported, such as committee work, research projects, student organization sites, or similar goals.
  • Does it require outside or non-Pepperdine participation? Pepperdine Canvas is limited to active students, faculty, and staff. If the site included other audiences, then another solution must be selected.
  • Does it meet accessibility guidelines? As noted in Step 1, all LMS content must adhere to digital accessibility regulations and guidelines. Refer to the Faculty Resources for Digital Accessibility.
  • Does it require more than 2 GB of space? Pepperdine Canvas sites provide 2 GB of storage space. For comparison, a Google Shared Drive offers 10 GB of space (and faculty/staff may purchase more space as needed).
  • Did you upload videos to the Sakai "Resources" tool? Avoid uploading videos into any LMS, including Pepperdine Canvas. Instead, academic and training videos should be placed in Pepperdine Panopto or a Google Shared Drive and then embedded into an LMS or website. Don't forget to provide captions!
  • Should it persist beyond 5 years? LMS sites have a 5-year retention period. If the site or content should extend beyond 5 years, consider other locations.

Learn more about Pepperdine Canvas Site Types.

 

Step 3A: Download Your Older Courses/Sakai Content

After your assessment of any project sites, if there is content that is important to retain and you don't have other copies of it already, then it will be important to take steps to download the content.

Instructor or Maintain Users

To download content, grades, or learner artifacts:

Remember, you can use the "Sites" menu of Courses to visit sites from specific academic terms. If you have hidden older class sites or want to determine the age of a project site, you can use the "Worksite Setup" tool in your "Home" site to view the Worksite Title, Type (Course or Project), Creator, Term (if Course site), Status (Published or Unpublished), and Creation Date for all of your sites. 

Student or Access Roles

Students interested in downloading their past class content will visit each class site that they still have access to. Unfortunately, there is no central tool or option to download all course content. Students will visit each site, each tool, and/or each activity. They will download their own content and any other content they have permission to download. Students should refer to any copyright statements in the course syllabus or confer with the instructor(s) to confirm that permission to download the faculty member's content has been approved.

 

FERPA Data Protections

When downloading content, be sure that academic records are protected. Professors must safeguard graded content, student submissions, and other materials considered academic records. Likewise, students must respect the content of their classmates. Academic records—including graded materials, discussion board posts, class meeting recordings, etc.—cannot be publicly shared without the express written authorization of the class participants.

 

Copyright Considerations

Lecture and other course materials are owned by the content creators, whether the professor, authors, textbook publishers, or other sources of the information. Please refer to any copyright or limitations of use statements in each class syllabus and check with each instructor for permission before saving any materials. Class materials must not be used for commercial purposes or shared publicly without the express written permission of the copyright holder(s).

 

Step 3B: Choose the Best Destination

Not all sites are eligible as a Pepperdine Canvas LMS site. Consider whether another destination may be best for your use case:

Table to Match Use Case to Transition Solution
Use Case Description Eligible for Pepperdine Canvas? Options
Academic Program Site (Student-facing) A project site was used to share information and communicate with students in an academic program, e.g., all Seaver English majors and minors, all incoming Caruso Malibu Law students, a first-year onboarding site, etc. The site used tools like Announcements, Assignments, Lessons, Resources, Tests & Quizzes, and others to engage and inform students. Yes*

Please consider whether a Google Site, Shared Drive, and/or Google Group may be a better fit. A Google Group can manage membership and facilitate email announcements. A Google Site can present information and be shared privately with the Google Group. A Google Shared Drive can contain the files you wish to share and provide collaboration with peer faculty and academic staff.

Else, if not already requested and still needed, please request a Sakai-to-Pepperdine Canvas migration.
Class Site (Academic Course Staging Site) A project site was used to design and develop an academic class site. It contains teaching materials, activities, and other content intended for a future live class with students. Yes*

Did you already migrate a past class site with the same content? If yes, then migrating the project site is not necessary. Please use the existing migrated site for importing into future classes.

If not already requested and still needed, please request a Sakai-to-Pepperdine Canvas migration.
Committee Site (Academic, Administrative, Departmental, or Other)  A project site was primarily used to share and store documents, send announcements, and/or serve as an information repository. The work may have been for an academic, departmental, or other purpose. No Please transition to Google Workspace. Use a Shared Drive for file storage and collaboration. Use a Google Group to manage the participants, to simplify sharing Google Drive content, and to send email announcements. Determine if a Google Site may be helpful for information presentation.
Research Project (Internal or Multi-institutional Research) A research project included internal and/or external people, such as collaborators at another academic institution. The site was used for file sharing, announcements, and possibly other features. No Please transition to Google Workspace. Use a Shared Drive for file storage and collaboration. Use a Google Group to manage the participants, to simplify sharing Google Drive content, and to send email announcements. Determine if a Google Site may be helpful for information presentation.
Student Organization or Club Site The project site was used for file storage and communication to serve a student organization, club, or other student-driven goal. No Please transition to Google Workspace. Use a Shared Drive for file storage and collaboration. Use a Google Group to manage the participants, to simplify sharing Google Drive content, and to send email announcements. Determine if a Google Site may be helpful for information presentation.
* The site may be eligible for consideration. Eligibility will be reviewed if a migration request is submitted.
 

Legacy Sakai Site Migration Request (Faculty and Staff Only)

If you would like to migrate your project site content to Pepperdine Canvas, then please review the steps below:

  1. Review University-Approved Pepperdine Canvas Site Types. All legacy Sakai sites requested for migration must map to a Pepperdine Canvas site type. Any requested sites that do not map to an approved site type will be directed to use Google Workspace functionality.
  2. Submit a Request. Submit a request for a Courses/Sakai to Pepperdine Canvas Migration.
  3. Submission Review. The submitted migration request will be reviewed to confirm alignment with approved Pepperdine Canvas site types. Please allow 5-15 business days processing time. 
  4. Request Decision. Approval status will be communicated directly via email.
    • Request Approved. If the requested site has been approved, it will be migrated to Pepperdine Canvas. Be aware of the following:
      • Sakai site migration brings Sakai instructional content over into a staging site in Pepperdine Canvas. The staging site title starts with "MIGRATED" and includes the target subject, whether a course or an approved project site (e.g., MIGRATED_ABC 123, MIGRATED_GSEP Writing Center). This migrated site is for the requestor(s) only, and may be adjusted and modified prior to importing to a live, Pepperdine Canvas site. NEVER enroll students into a "MIGRATED" course site; import the migrated content to the official, live site only!
      • If your goal is to use the migrated content for an Academic Program Site or a Training Site that will enroll others, then you must submit an additional request for the new site.
      • Consultations will not be provided for these types of requests. Please review the Pepperdine Canvas faculty guides for training and support.
    • Request Denied. If your requested site has been denied, you will be encouraged to use Google Workspace or another appropriate tool. 

 

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