Can we keep our existing course content from Brightspace?

Yes. Brightspace supports SCORM and Common Cartridge exports; both import directly into OpenEduCat's LMS without modification. Native D2L content (Learning Framework HTML pages) requires a conversion step using D2L's export tools before import. For most institutions, the majority of formal learning objects are in SCORM or Common Cartridge format, which migrate directly.

How long does a D2L to OpenEduCat migration take?

Most migrations complete in 5-8 weeks. Institutions with primarily SCORM and Common Cartridge content can migrate in 5-6 weeks. Institutions with large volumes of native D2L content or complex SIS integrations (Banner, PeopleSoft) should plan for 7-8 weeks. The timeline includes not just moving LMS content but also configuring the SIS, admissions, and fee management modules that Brightspace never included.

What happens to our existing SIS (Banner, PeopleSoft, Colleague)?

OpenEduCat replaces the SIS function. Student records, enrollment, registration, and academic history migrate from your existing SIS during Phase 4. The migration team handles data mapping between Banner or PeopleSoft field structures and OpenEduCat's student information system, including historical transcript data and enrollment records.

Will Respondus LockDown Browser still work for our proctored exams?

Yes. OpenEduCat integrates with Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor. The integration is configured during Phase 2 of the migration. Faculty and students use the same Respondus client they use today; only the LMS backend changes. High-stakes assessments are verified during Phase 3 before go-live.

Do we need to retrain all our faculty?

Faculty training is included in Phase 5 and typically takes one 3-hour session per role group. Faculty familiar with any modern LMS adapt quickly, since the core concepts of courses, modules, gradebook, and discussion boards are the same. The primary learning curve is expanded functionality: integrated attendance, the unified student profile, and direct timetable visibility.

What does OpenEduCat offer that Brightspace does not?

Brightspace is an LMS: it handles course delivery and grading. OpenEduCat is a complete institution management platform. In addition to an integrated LMS, you get a full student information system, admissions management with online applications, timetable generation, fee management with online payments, attendance tracking, examination management with report cards, library management, HR for faculty, and integrated accounting. It replaces Brightspace plus your entire SIS and administrative toolset.

Migration Guide

Migrating from D2L Brightspace to OpenEduCat

A step-by-step guide to migrating your institution from D2L Brightspace to OpenEduCat

Estimated Timeline: 5-8 weeks

Book a Free Consultation View Migration Phases

Why Institutions Switch from D2L Brightspace

D2L Brightspace is a capable higher education LMS, but it was designed for course delivery only. Most institutions running Brightspace also maintain a separate SIS (Banner, PeopleSoft, or Colleague) for student records, admissions, registration, and financial aid. Finance, HR, and facilities management live in yet another set of tools. The result is significant data fragmentation: student enrollment changes in the SIS need manual triggering of Brightspace updates, grade exports require custom integrations, and no single system provides a complete view of a student's academic and financial status.

Migrating to OpenEduCat consolidates all of this into one platform. Course content from Brightspace exports as industry-standard packages (SCORM and Common Cartridge) that import cleanly into OpenEduCat's LMS. Faculty find familiar tools for course organization, discussion boards, quizzes, and grade management. The real value comes from what the migration adds, not just what it replaces. For the first time, administrators have a single platform where course enrollment, student records, fee payment status, and attendance data all coexist without manual synchronization.

D2L's proprietary Learning Framework format adds one migration complexity: native D2L content modules use D2L-specific HTML structure and metadata that needs conversion to standard formats before import. Institutions using SCORM packages or Common Cartridge (both industry-standard formats) migrate directly without this step. For institutions that built heavily in D2L's native authoring tools, a content conversion step adds 1-2 weeks depending on volume.

The broader migration also involves retiring the separate SIS. This is where most institutions see the largest operational improvement: moving from a process where an admissions coordinator submits enrollment to Banner, waits for overnight batch processing, and then manually triggers Brightspace enrollment, to a single workflow where a student's acceptance automatically triggers enrollment, fee billing, timetable assignment, and LMS course access in one sequence.

Migration Phases

A proven 5-phase process to ensure a smooth transition

Audit & Content Inventory

1 week

Catalog all D2L courses, identify content types (SCORM vs native D2L HTML), inventory quizzes and integrations, and document the existing SIS to understand migration scope.

Generate course listing with enrollment counts, content type breakdown (SCORM%, native D2L%), and quiz count
Export user accounts and role assignments (Student, Instructor, Teaching Assistant, Admin)
Inventory all SCORM packages and Common Cartridge exports and verify each launches correctly
Audit native D2L content modules (HTML pages created in D2L's authoring tool) that will require conversion
Document external integrations: Respondus LockDown Browser, Turnitin, Panopto, Kaltura, video hosting
Identify the institution's SIS (Banner, PeopleSoft, Colleague) and its current D2L integration method
Export D2L grade schemas and course weighting configurations

OpenEduCat Environment Setup

1 week

Deploy OpenEduCat and configure academic structure, user accounts, and SIS workflows: the institutional backbone Brightspace never had.

Install OpenEduCat Enterprise and configure branding, timezone, and language
Set up academic years, terms, departments, and program structures
Import user accounts from D2L export and map roles to OpenEduCat groups
Configure the SIS: student profiles, enrollment workflows, and academic records
Set up course and subject structures aligned to the D2L course catalog
Configure authentication (LDAP, SAML, or OAuth2) matching D2L's identity setup
Initialize fee structures, academic calendar, and timetable scaffolding
Configure Respondus integration if high-stakes proctored assessments are in use

Course Content Migration

2-3 weeks

Export Brightspace content in standard formats, convert native D2L content, import into OpenEduCat's LMS, and rebuild interactive elements that require manual recreation.

Export SCORM and Common Cartridge packages from D2L and verify package integrity
Convert native D2L HTML content modules using D2L's bulk export and conversion tools
Import SCORM and Common Cartridge packages into OpenEduCat LMS and test playback
Recreate quiz banks in OpenEduCat: import Respondus QTI-format quizzes where available
Migrate discussion board structures for courses relying on peer interaction
Upload media assets (Panopto videos, documents, PDFs) to OpenEduCat's learning materials library
Migrate gradebook configurations and historical grades for active courses
Recreate rubrics and assignment submission configurations

SIS & ERP Configuration

1-2 weeks

Set up the institutional management capabilities that Brightspace never had and replace the separate SIS: the biggest operational upgrade of the migration.

Configure admissions module with application forms, stages, and automated approval workflows
Build timetables using OpenEduCat's scheduling engine: rooms, faculty, and time slots
Set up fee management: fee structures, payment schedules, and online payment gateway
Configure per-subject and daily attendance tracking with at-risk student alerts
Set up examination management with grade scales, weightage, and report card templates
Import historical student records from the outgoing SIS (Banner, PeopleSoft, or Colleague)
Configure automated communication workflows: enrollment confirmations, fee receipts, and parent notifications

Staff Training & Go Live

1 week

Train all user groups on the new platform and run both systems in parallel for validation before fully cutting over from Brightspace.

Conduct administrator training on SIS, admissions, fees, and reporting dashboards
Train faculty on the LMS: course delivery, gradebook, attendance, and live classroom tools
Train registrar staff on enrollment management and student record workflows
Run OpenEduCat in parallel with Brightspace for 1-2 weeks, verifying course access and data accuracy
Disable D2L enrollment and redirect users to OpenEduCat
Monitor for missing content or broken links during the first two weeks post-launch
Decommission Brightspace after one full academic term on OpenEduCat

Data Mapping: D2L Brightspace to OpenEduCat

How your existing data maps to OpenEduCat fields

D2L Brightspace Field	OpenEduCat Field	Notes
D2L User (Brightspace user accounts)	User / Student (res.users + op.student)	Map Brightspace roles (Student, Instructor, Teaching Assistant, Admin) to OpenEduCat groups; students receive full SIS profiles with demographic data Brightspace never collected
D2L Course Offering	Course (op.course)	Course offerings map to OpenEduCat courses; add department, program, and academic term associations not present in Brightspace
Learning Framework Content (D2L-native HTML)	Learning Materials (ir.attachment)	Convert native D2L HTML modules to standard HTML or PDF using D2L bulk export tools before import; SCORM and Common Cartridge packages import directly without conversion
Quizzes (Respondus-compatible QTI)	Question Bank (op.exam.question)	Respondus-formatted quizzes export as QTI and import into OpenEduCat's question bank; verify randomization and time-limit settings after import
Gradebook (D2L grade book and grade items)	Gradebook (op.marksheet.line)	Export final grades per course; recreate grade item structure and weighting in OpenEduCat examination module
Course Enrollment (Brightspace enrollments)	Course Registration (op.subject.registration)	Active enrollments become course registrations; batch import from D2L enrollment export CSV
Discussion Boards	Discussion Forum (op.forum)	Recreate forum structures; historical discussion posts can be archived as PDF exports for reference if required for academic records
Assignment Dropboxes	Assignment Module (op.assignment)	Recreate assignment configurations including rubrics, submission types, and due dates; historical submissions archived separately

Risk Mitigation

Potential challenges and how we address them

Native D2L Learning Framework content has no direct import path to other LMS platforms

Use D2L's bulk export tool to download native HTML packages, then convert to standard HTML or PDF before importing to OpenEduCat. For large volumes of native content, budget one additional week per 100 courses with predominantly native D2L material. Institutions with primarily SCORM content are not affected by this risk.

Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor dependency for high-stakes assessments

OpenEduCat integrates with Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor for proctored assessments. Configure the Respondus integration during Phase 2 and verify it during Phase 3 before go-live. Faculty using Respondus Monitor (webcam proctoring) should test with a pilot course before full migration.

Complex D2L grade schemas with custom calculation formulas

D2L supports custom grade calculation formulas not present in other LMS systems. Export all grade schemas in Phase 1 and map each calculation type to an OpenEduCat equivalent. Simple percentage-based schemas migrate directly; formula-based calculations need manual recreation in OpenEduCat's examination module.

Panopto, Kaltura, or other video platform integration migration

If the institution uses Panopto or Kaltura integrated with Brightspace, plan for video integration reconfiguration. OpenEduCat integrates with Panopto; reconfigure the connector during Phase 2 and update video links in migrated courses during Phase 3. Inventory total video assets during Phase 1 to estimate the link-update effort.

Migration Support from OpenEduCat

OpenEduCat provides professional migration services with a dedicated higher education team experienced in D2L Brightspace and Banner/PeopleSoft transitions. Every D2L migration includes content validation: all SCORM packages and converted content are tested before go-live. Institutions migrating from Brightspace receive a concurrent SIS transition plan that maps Banner or PeopleSoft fields to OpenEduCat's student information system, with data validation reports and record-count verification before cutover.

Frequently Asked Questions

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Related Resources

Full D2L Brightspace Comparison All Features Pricing Solutions All Comparisons

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