D2L Brightspace

To review the original transition plan announced on April 29, 2026, download the Brightspace Transition Plan. Please note that this plan has been modified so the School of Social Work, School of Law, and Stritch School of Medicine will now transition to Brightspace by Summer 2027.

A fall schedule of Brightspace training opportunities for instructors and students is available now. View the D2L Brightspace Events Calendar for details.

Yes. To request Brightspace training for your department or program, please complete a Service Request Form.

Possibly. The School of Communication (SOC) and the School of Continuing & Professional Studies (SCPS) have been selected as Brightspace early adopters for Fall 2026. As a result, instructors and students who are enrolled in courses across multiple schools—including SOC or SCPS and schools that continue to use Sakai—may need to access both platforms during the transition period. 

A limited number of Spring 2027 courses will continue to be taught in Sakai. In addition, non-credit project sites may remain active in Sakai through May 2027. The system is scheduled to be decommissioned in June 2027, after which Sakai will no longer be accessible to users. 

No. Building your courses from scratch is optional. Completed courses for early adopter instructors have already been migrated from Sakai to Brightspace. Completed courses from Spring 2026 [1262] and Summer 2026 [1264] for all other instructors will be migrated by mid-Fall 2026. Current courses in Fall 2026 [1266] will be migrated in early 2027.

Instructors will be able to request access to their completed courses in Brightspace for Spring 2026 and Summer 2026 soon. Please check back in mid-October.

As with Sakai, Brightspace allows you to copy content from a previous course into a new course site. However, you should plan to review your migrated content carefully, including formatting, organization, links, and activities, and make any necessary adjustments before teaching your course. 

Instructors can request a Brightspace sandbox course by submitting a ticket to the ITS Service Desk. Please allow 24-48 hours for the request to be processed. Once your sandbox course has been created, it will appear under My Courses when you login to Brightspace. The course title will be displayed as [Instructor's First Name] Sandbox. Content created in a sandbox course can then be copied over to an official course site. 

Yes. Instructors using Brightspace in Fall 2026 can now access Zoom, Panopto, VoiceThread, and other integrated tools. We’re also excited to announce that Turnitin is now available in Brightspace. You can review the following instructions to get started.

How do I create a Turnitin assignment in Brightspace?

Academic and administrative units and individuals who currently use Sakai project sites may continue to do so throughout the 2026-27 academic year. After June 2027, the future of these sites will depend on how they are being used. Project sites without defined start and end dates, such as those primarily used to store or share resources may be better suited for migration to Microsoft SharePoint. Project sites that function more like traditional courses may transition to Brightspace, while remaining separate from academic course sites to address security and access considerations. Microsoft 365 is also expected to integrate with Brightspace and provide additional options for guest access. More information and guidance will be available in early 2027.

Yes, Brightspace has a mobile app called Brightspace Pulse. Please note that this app is designed primarily to support the student experience.