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Courses Upgrades

Overview

Pepperdine University schedules major upgrades for our Courses LMS (learning management system) on an annual basis. Each annual upgrade typically incorporates a number of changes, including:

  • New Features
  • Enhancements for Existing Features
  • Maintenance Updates
  • Database Improvements
  • Security Updates

These upgrades are important to meet the needs of our community and keep Pepperdine's LMS on an innovative curve.

Annual August Upgrades

Due to the overlapping academic calendars of each school, there is never a "perfect" time for an upgrade. To address this, the Technology and Learning team collaborates with each of the University's five (5) schools to schedule the best possible timing for the yearly upgrade. To minimize the impact on faculty and students, major upgrades to Courses occur every August, typically in the first or second week prior to the start of the fall term.

Next Upgrade

  • Version: Sakai 22
  • Date: August 16, 2023

Benefits

  • Assignments: New Video Submission option
  • Calendar: Improved design
  • Lessons: New Page Layout options
  • Rich Text Editor: A streamlined editor (with an option to expand for all features)
  • Performance and stability enhancements
  • Security updates

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between a Courses upgrade and a Courses update?

What's an Upgrade? You can think of a Courses LMS "upgrade" along similar lines as a major operating system release (e.g. version 11 to 12). They usually represent a more significant overhaul in the improvement and reliability of the system. The Sakai community performs a significant amount of testing on each new release prior to Pepperdine's scheduled upgrade day.

What's an Update? A Courses LMS "update" is usually more of a maintenance event. They typically are composed of small updates and patches to keep the system running smoothly and stay secure. Updates are usually scheduled during periods of low impact (e.g., Spring Break or Thanksgiving Break) throughout the academic year.

 

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