Course migration at scale isn’t just a technical operation—it’s an emotional one, too. Instructors have years of intellectual work invested in their LMS courses, and the idea of losing structure, design elements, or content in a move can be understandably nerve-wracking. That’s why we knew the migration process during UMass Amherst’s move to Canvas had to be both robust and human-centered.
To meet the scale and complexity of this challenge, we partnered with K16 Solutions, whose Scaffold Migration service allowed us to automate a massive amount of content transfer from Moodle and Blackboard to Canvas. Their platform was a vital piece of our infrastructure. But like any major partnership, it required ongoing alignment, clear communication, and some strategic recalibrating along the way.
Vendor Collaboration: Finding Our Groove
K16 was brought in early, but it took us a little time to find our shared rhythm. When I stepped into a more direct role communicating with the vendor, things began to click. My focus was to streamline expectations, bridge the gaps between what we hoped the migration would accomplish and what K16’s system could deliver, and make sure our faculty weren’t left guessing.
Structuring the Migration: Phased, Tested, and Supported
The migration wasn’t a single event—it was a carefully staged sequence:
- Plan & Analyze (Fall 2021–Fall 2022): As part of the Flexible Learning Implementation Committee, we explored and vetted LMS options, landing on Canvas after needs assessments, usability studies, and campus-wide listening tours.
- Design & Build (Spring–Summer 2022): Technical assessments began, and we kicked off pilots—including a sandbox environment and early integrations.
- Test (Spring 2023): Professional development and migration testing ramped up. This is where K16 became crucial, moving high volumes of courses while we established our internal processes.
- Deploy (Fall 2023–Spring 2024): Larger groups transitioned fully to Canvas, and Blackboard/Moodle began retirement.
- Convert & Sunset (Fall 2024): All courses officially on Canvas; legacy platforms shut down. We supported faculty access until Summer 2025.
This phased approach gave us time to refine our processes—and figure out what instructors really needed once their course was migrated.
Lessons Learned: Align Early, Adapt Often
K16’s migration toolset is powerful, but it’s not magic. The biggest lesson we learned was the importance of upfront alignment: what could and couldn’t be migrated, what elements might break in translation, and what workarounds we’d need in place.
Rather than waiting until courses were mid-migration, we started documenting potential pain points early on and built playbooks around them. That way, instructors weren’t blindsided when certain content didn’t come over perfectly. (We found, for example, that complex quizzes and third-party tool links often needed human intervention.)
Bottom line: Set shared expectations early. Migration partners can do a lot—but it’s up to you to define success.
The Concierge Model: Pairing Automation with Human Support
Once courses were migrated, we didn’t just hand them back and hope for the best. We launched a concierge migration service: our team personally followed up with instructors to review migrated courses, walk through any issues, and help them get “Canvas-ready” for teaching.
This included:
- 1:1 consultations with faculty whose courses were migrated
- Dedicated asynchronous trainings on “What to Do After Your Course Is Migrated”
- Live workshops focused on course cleanup, redesign, and Q&A
It was labor-intensive, but absolutely worth it. We bridged the gap between automation and pedagogy, and made sure our instructors weren’t just migrated—they were empowered.
Migration, Mastered
Large-scale LMS migration is never going to be without bumps, but with a strong vendor relationship, clear expectations, and a team that genuinely cares about the end user experience, it can be transformative.
We didn’t just move content. We moved people—from uncertainty to confidence, from old systems to new possibilities.
And that’s what success looks like.
