Scaffold Migration
Established in 1998 by third-generation French chefs Alain and Marie Lenotre, The Culinary Institute of Lenotre (CIL) is globally recognized for its expertise in French cuisine and pastry arts. Offering a comprehensive education, students delve into both classic and contemporary culinary methods, exploring a diverse range of dishes while gaining knowledge in nutrition, menu development, and wine fundamentals in associate degree programs. With flexible scheduling and financial aid options, the institute’s five-star programming, including specialty electives and seminars in advanced pastry skills, ensures a well-rounded culinary education tailored to individual needs.
In 2023, following a competitive RFP process, CIL decided to end its seven-year contract with Instructure for its Canvas platform. As the management team at CIL was considering other LMS options, they were blown away by the stellar customer service at Anthology as well as the new capabilities of their LMS, Blackboard® Learn. A switch to Learn became a no-brainer–the only thing standing in the institution’s way was the challenge of how to best migrate courses to a new platform.
The team would need to find a way to handle what could be a massive workload burden in the most efficient way in order to give faculty and staff the support they needed. There was no time to migrate by manually copying and pasting courses. That’s why the team at Anthology introduced CIL to K16 Solutions. With the help of K16’s automated migration solution, Scaffold Migration, CIL was able to seamlessly transition all courses to Learn while sticking to their tight timeline.
Convincing faculty
One of CIL’s biggest challenges was getting faculty buy-in on a new LMS. As a school specializing in the art and discipline of food, many of the chef instructors didn’t have courses online to begin with and didn’t feel tech-savvy enough to use an online platform. The management team needed to ensure instructors that the switch would reduce workload, not increase it. A simple and easy transition with plenty of time for training would be necessary to get them on board.
Small but mighty team
CIL had a small team that would be in charge of implementing the transition. With only two administrators, the institution had limited manpower to migrate courses. The school’s admins already had their everyday tasks to take care of and didn’t have room for additional workload without working overtime.
Adjunct help was expensive and time-consuming
One option to reduce the workload of an LMS migration was to hire adjunct help. Unfortunately, CIL didn’t have the resources to hire and train a support staff just for the migration project. As such, the institution began to evaluate alternative migration options.
“It was a decision based on numbers. We knew that we needed K16’s help to stick to a timeline and have the most efficient project possible.”
- Samantha Kellen, Senior Business Office Manager at CIL
Once the management team realized a transition wouldn’t be possible on their own, CIL’s contact at Anthology recommended working with K16 Solutions.
The institution’s contact at K16, Sam Yaghoubi, was able to walk the team through a demo and show them how easy the transition could be with Scaffold Migration. This demo, combined with K16’s success stories, convinced CIL to embark on a partnership.
“It was a decision based on numbers,” said Samantha Kellen, senior business office manager at CIL. “We knew that we needed K16’s help to stick to a timeline and have the most efficient project possible.”
The management team had regular check-in calls with the K16 team to ensure the most accurate translation of information. “We also appreciated K16’s great communication and the ability to answer any and all of our questions,” Kellen said.
No need to hire adjunct help
Using an automated migration solution like Scaffold Migration completely eliminated the need to enter data by hand into the new platform. This meant that CIL staff didn’t need to work overtime or hire and train adjunct help in order to stick to their timeline. CIL’s two admins were able to easily oversee the project through regular check-in calls.
Testing ensured accurate translation
Some data from Canvas didn’t match up perfectly with Learn, which would normally throw a wrench into a migration project. The team at K16 was able to provide testing to show how some customization could fix those sections without manual work. “It wasn’t perfect every time, but the team was able to make the adjustments we needed based on feedback we gave,” said Kellen. “That way, we were able to get the most accurate translation possible without us having to do any extra work.”
Faculty felt supported in transition
Because the migration was so seamless, CIL had more time to provide faculty with training in the new platform. Instructors were able to work in a test environment and had two weeks before the new term started to play around in Learn and get comfortable with using the platform. The week before classes began, CIL had instructors walk students through how to sign in for the first time and how to find classes for the next term. This extra time for training was what the institution needed in order to obtain vital faculty buy-in on the new technology. “We were only able to do this because K16 gave us more time,” said Kellen. “I loved our K16 team. They were very helpful–I would recommend them to anyone. They always checked in with us, gave us an honest timeline, and made adjustments whenever we asked.”
“I loved our K16 team. They were very helpful–I would recommend them to anyone. They always checked in with us, gave us an honest timeline, and made adjustments whenever we asked.”
- Samantha Kellen, Senior Business Office Manager at CIL