Sakai 25 Patch Highlights: September 2025

Sakai 25.x continues to mature with a steady stream of polish aimed at day-to-day teaching and learning workflows. Over the last quarter the community delivered dozens of fixes that reduce friction for instructors and tidy up longstanding paper cuts. Below is a tour through the most visible changes now available to institutions tracking the 25.x line.

Assignments: Smoother Grading and Authoring

Assignments received focused attention on anonymous grading, rubric handling, and draft management so that high-volume grading sessions stay reliable.

• SAK-51920 keeps the anonymous grading checkbox enabled even after a past-due alert appears.
• SAK-51839 hides Grade Overrides when anonymous group grading is selected in the legacy grader, preventing leaks.
• SAK-51861 restores rubric icons in the instructor list when “Hide Rubric from Student” is active.
• SAK-51786 remembers Gradebook category selections while an assignment is in draft.
• SAK-51795 allows instructors to release all grades in group assignments even if a filter is applied.
• SAK-51914 stops editing errors from unexpectedly swapping the selected rubric.
• SAK-51759 makes sure assignments reappear after exiting the Add Assignment flow.
• SAK-51887 removes truncation in reminder titles so full context stays visible.
• SAK-51657 tightens resubmission logic so blocked students and null submitted dates no longer occur.

Gradebook: More Predictable Organization

The Gradebook tool now aligns more closely with instructor expectations, from drag-and-drop affordances to exports.

• SAK-47393 synchronizes the category dropdown order with the Settings view.
• SAK-51901 properly initializes the current Gradebook UID and site ID.
• SAK-51899 ensures sorter buttons display a drag cursor to communicate reordering.
• SAK-51779 repositions the rubric modal for better accessibility.
• SAK-51735 improves expand/collapse reliability when toggling sections.
• SAK-51711 re-initializes category drag-and-drop when an accordion expands.
• SAK-51743 prevents sorting exceptions by handling NaN values gracefully.
• SAK-51682 respects student-number visibility permissions during exports.
• SAK-51673 updates the import flow to use Bootstrap accordions for consistency.
• SAK-51605 fixes undefined assignmentId issues in category drag-and-drop.

SakaiGrader: Restored Flow for Large Cohorts

• SAK-51745 brings back the “Show all” option for mass grading scenarios.
• SAK-51695 corrects submission history ordering so the newest work appears first.
• SAK-51694 clarifies the difference between extension and resubmission UIs.
• SAK-51595 polishes both desktop layouts and mobile ergonomics.

Rubrics: Clarity for Instructors and Students

• SAK-51895 limits the rubric “hide” control to instructors.
• SAK-51724 makes criterion comments visible from the instructor view again.
• SAK-51654 fixes Spanish translations when editing or confirming dynamic rubric criteria.
• SAK-51599 eliminates console errors that surfaced when opening assessment submissions.
• SAK-51689 displays self-report rubrics inline inside the grader.

Tests & Quizzes (Samigo): Less Guesswork, More Feedback

• SAK-51959 adds a “Reset Selection” option for multiple-choice questions.
• SAK-51960 resolves an anonymous-grading regression in submission dropdowns.
• SAK-51935 makes notifications honor the “Send notification” timing selection.
• SAK-51750 restores the ability for students to record audio responses.
• SAK-51331 fixes the “Checks when printing” option in the HTML print view.
• SAK-51589 prevents model short-answer fields from appearing empty.
• SAK-51906 tidies the Question Pools tab display.
• SAK-51749 updates defaults to associate with existing Gradebook items and sets grading to “none.”
• SAK-51610 relaxes Safe Exam Browser exit-password validation and cleans up formatting.

Lessons: Stronger Imports and Authoring UX

• SAK-51915 introduces Canvas syllabus import support.
• SAK-51805 improves Canvas Common Cartridge imports overall.
• SAK-51712 limits Lesson imports to only the items you select.
• SAK-51871 now includes LTI items when importing from another site.
• SAK-51788 expands “Visibility & Access” by default while editing a subpage.
• SAK-51773 delivers subpage navigation fixes for a smoother authoring flow.
• SAK-51714 applies accessibility tweaks to section title contrast and borders.
• SAK-51760 modernizes icons (Font Awesome) and converts key links to buttons for clarity.
• SAK-50993 ensures Lesson file access respects hidden Resources settings.

Discussions

• SAK-51764 removes a null selectedTopic error.
• SAK-51758 corrects the “go to first new message” icon.

Messages & Announcements

• SAK-51961 restores “Schedule message” when replying or reply-all, addressing several regressions.
• SAK-51905 improves icon rendering reliability across browsers and themes.
• SAK-51944 strengthens emoji handling in Announcements by supporting full Unicode code points.

Resources

• SAK-51791 restores folder hierarchies with more than two levels.
• SAK-51792 fixes malformed location paths during upload.
• SAK-51790 increases contrast on the “Actions” button for hidden items.

Date Manager

• SAK-51838 boosts CSV import/export reliability.
• SAK-51732 adopts OpenCSV for parsing with configurable delimiters.
• SAK-51728 gets date shifting working again.
• SAK-51722 allows updates to Gradebook items while gradebook-by-groups is enabled.

Roster

• SAK-33907 lets staff search by student EID.
• SAK-51692 returns enrolled students after a failed search without needing to clear filters.

LTI

• SAK-51822 fixes ClassCastExceptions triggered by incorrect launch types.
• SAK-51681 enables site-navigation placement for external tools.

SCORM

• SAK-51924 now returns proper HTTP 404 responses for missing resources.

Search

• SAK-49158 indexes literal filenames—including extensions—for better discoverability.

Site Management and Site Info

• SAK-51878 resolves PDF export failures that appeared after the FOP upgrade.
• SAK-51338 maintains permissions when importing from another site.

Dashboard & Portal

• SAK-51228 refines responsive layouts across widgets and dropdowns.
• SAK-51526 hides the “push is not enabled” banner when push notifications are intentionally off.
• SAK-51753 keeps notifications working even when push is disabled.

What’s Next

These cumulative updates focus on delivering a better teaching experience. If you are planning an upgrade or need help prioritizing which fixes to backport, our team is happy to talk through deployments and testing plans.