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Early Adopter Program

Last modified by Julia Gilmore on 2026-01-29, 09:56

About the Program

In Spring 2024, Scholaris launched an Early Adopter Program to develop the service. The program will involve multiple cohort stages beginning in 2024, and is open to Canadian university libraries.

Pilot schools (pre-program, beg. Fall 2023)

Cohort 1 (beg. Summer 2024)

Cohort 2 (beg. Fall 2024)

2025 Cohorts (Winter/Spring)

2025 Cohorts (Summer/Fall)

2026 Cohorts (Winter/Spring)

  • Athabasca University
  • Dalhousie University
  • McGill University
  • NOSM
  • Toronto Metropolitan University
  • Université du Québec au Montréal

What can I expect as an Early Adopter? 

Please visit the Onboarding 101 area of the wiki for an overview of the onboarding process and general migration sequence. The specific migration steps and timelines may vary depending on your particular repository set-up, type of migration (e.g., DSpace or non-DSpace), and institutional capacity. As part of the onboarding process, we will discuss your repository scenario and create a detailed timeline for the migration work. 

Responsibilities

  • Attend regular check-in calls with Scholaris team
  • Provide required information to configure repository instance
  • Allocate local staff time for testing and review
    • Scholaris team provides testing checklist and can host dedicated training sessions upon request
  • Confirm showstopper customizations and integrations 2 weeks before launch
  • Email info@scholaris.ca with any requests 📬

Resources for Early Adopters

  • Visit the About Scholaris page for an overview of the service model and plans for future development. 
  • Review the Migration Readiness Guide (EN | FR) which was prepared for institutions interested in or planning to join Scholaris, and provides considerations, recommendations, and feedback from Early Adopter institutions.
  • The Documentation area gathers together service information for participants (e.g., workflows, recommended practices, Scholaris-specific DSpace admin guides, etc.). 
  • The Community Resources page has a list of community-developed resources, communication channels, and avenues to connect with the Canadian repository community.
  • Participant Pages (restricted to institution)

Interested in joining the program?

We are accepting applications from schools who want to begin onboarding anytime before Q2 2026. We encourage interested institutions to complete an Expression of Interest so we can learn more about your repository needs and determine timelines for onboarding. Alternatively, you can always contact us to learn more about the program.

Note: If you are interested in joining Scholaris after Q2 2026, please get in touch by emailing info@scholaris.ca. 

Service agreement and billing

When you are ready to get started, please contact us and we will loop in your regional consortia representative to confirm your participation. The service agreement for the Early Adopter Program is signed by regional consortia, on behalf of participating institutions. If you would like to receive a copy of the agreement, we recommend making this request to your consortia. Invoicing and payment for the program will happen through your consortia, according to their billing cycle. 

Scholars Portal provides Early Adopters with a pricing information sheet upon confirmation of joining the program.

Note on optional features outlined in the Call for Early Adopters

The Call for Early Adopters makes reference to pricing for optional add-on features (external authentication, DOI support, and preservation support).

We can now share an update on the pricing for the optional features: SSO support is projected as a one-time fee for institutions incorporating external authentication for their repository. The fees outlined for DOI support will not be charged by Scholars Portal, and can instead be redirected to cover membership costs for DataCite Canada. Pricing for preservation support is still being determined and will be shared once finalized.