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Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

  • 1.  Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 20 days ago

    Hello fellow Field Directors, I hope you're hanging in there in this tumultuous time. I heard from one of our Sonia IT folks this week that Sonia "is phasing out" in the next year or so, and they are recommending that we look at ELC as an alternative. Has anyone else who is currently using Sonia heard this? I am also wondering what databases folks are liking these days...I know, a cyclical conversation. Our goal is cost effective (we do not require students to incur the cost) and accessible for a large program (1000+ students). Thanks in advance for any thoughts or ideas. This one was a bit of a surprise and not something we thought we were going to need to navigate this soon.

    Katie 



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    Katie Klakos
    Director of Field Education
    Ohio State University, The
    Columbus OH
    614-247-6688
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  • 2.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 19 days ago

    Hi Katie, I have not heard that about Sonia. Interested if others have. We will have to look into these things. Thanks for the head's up.

    Margie

    Margie Quartley, 

    Assistant Director of Practicum Education

    University at Buffalo School of Social Work

    (716) 645-1233



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    Marjorie Quartley
    Assistant Director of Field Education
    University at Buffalo, State University of New York
    Getzville NY
    +1 (716) 645-1233
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    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 16 days ago

    Good Morning!

    I have been looking into Sonia, and Tevera, with Lumivero for the past year and a half.

    I have also been research all possibilities that we might have within SMSU, and other platforms available.  

    It was stated that Sonia and Tevera will be phasing out, and a new platform that combines the best of both will be implemented.

    I have had several demos of the ELC, and shared it with our administration, and those who make the decisions with any platforms to be utilized at SMSU.  All administration who make I have shared this with, state they cannot make adjustments to anything we utilize currently that would work as well for our needs for field.

    The platform by Lumivero is called the Experential Learning Cloud (ELC).  

    My contact is Brie, Brianna Kaysen Mullin, bkaysenmullin@lumivero.com, she has been very helpful and quick to respond.  She has given several demos, for me, and for administration.

    However, if everyone reaches out, it may take a little longer :)

    I hope this is helpful, and does not cause alarm, but hope for a more streamlined platform for our use.

    Joy for your day 

    Nan

     



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    Nancy "Nan" Askeland
    Director of Field Education
    +1 (507) 537-6543
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    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 16 days ago
    They do say in the webinar that Sonia is not going away but I can imagine that support services will become more limited as they focus on ELC.  We also need something cost effective and that is not passed down to our students, so I'm sure if ELC will be right for us either.  I'm happy to report back any additional information I receive after our meeting.
    Thanks, 

    Jennifer Schermerhorn, LCSW

    Clinical Associate Professor/Director of Graduate Field Education

    College of Health and Human Services

    Salisbury University School of Social Work

    1101 Camden Ave

    Salisbury, MD 21801

    TETC 254K

    410-548-3563




    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 16 days ago

    Hi all,

    I have been in touch with our Sonia contacts and here is some more info about the transition:

    From their Education Services Manager Abigail Binger: "As indicated in the resources shared, we are excited to present Experiential Learning Cloud (ELC), a modern cloud-based placement solution that brings together functionality from our two incredible placement solutions, Sonia and Tevera. We are encouraging existing Sonia users to consider when the timing is right to migrate to ELC. This is a decision you make for timing that will be least disruptive to your program."

    I followed up asking two specific questions about timeline and received this response from Account Manager Josh Stein: 

    Is there a deadline for this transition? Does it have to happen by end of this year?
    Is it something we could plan for next AY and then implement spring of 2027 with a full transition summer of 2027?

    Lastly, sharing the resources that were shared with us for review: Here is the link to the https://lumivero.com/resources/webinars-events/innovation-insider-future-of-experiential-learning-for-sonia-customers/?utm_source=marketo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=elc-webinar-innovationinsider-soniamigration-us-emea-2025-12-16&utm_content=followup-attendees&mkt_tok=OTA4LVJCRS05MjMAAAGezDnpzgjykcHSA5gNAN6pkZT9SJYc3zhVgKpeZtVJJJbqEhrq07RVEIWl8MvfQzdzNsbrh7GAvlYsQQ3BRtCZU67DsaAqfo8nVf-yCcSk Click to follow link." data-outlook-id="04062c1a-28da-4ada-b695-a4badc3017e9" target="_blank" rel="noopener">webinar we hosted last month as well as our info article regarding several details about the transition from Sonia to ELC. 

    Hope this helps other folks with their planning!
    Best

    KAT



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    Katharina Werner
    Director of Field Education
    University of Montana
    Missoula MT
    406-243-5589
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 16 days ago

    Hi Katie, 

    I use ELC for my program, and I really like it. Once I got the basics down, I have found it easy to navigate and the Customer Support has always been helpful for me. My Field supervisors love it because it is the easiest for them. The students are always a little overwhelmed at first, but they love it by the end of Field. However, the new pricing structure might pose a challenge for larger programs. Our program is new and quite small (15-20 students in Field has been our max so far), so we are hoping to be able to switch to the new subscription-based service in a way that does not put the cost on the students. My plan is to try out this new model for a few years, and then to reassess at our next renewal period.

    Hope this is helpful, and please feel free to reach out if you have any questions about ELC!



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    Chloe Forehand
    Field Director
    University of Texas at Tyler
    903-565-6433
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    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 8 days ago

    Good morning all,

    Thanks for all these comments on this thread! The information has been really helpful as our program is currently considering this transition from Sonia to ELC. For those that have transitioned from Sonia to ELC, was your program able to build out the student and supervisor evaluations the way you would like (or the way they were previously built in Sonia)? Also, how was your program able to retrieve evaluation data? Was that retrieved only through ELC or was evaluation information able to be brought back into relevant university/program systems outside of ELC? 

    Be well,

    Sara Chears-Martinez, LSW

    Practicum Coordinator and Assistant Professor, Social Work

    National Louis University



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    Sara Chears-Martinez
    Field Education Coordinator
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    Original Message


  • 8.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 16 days ago

    Hi colleagues! We are a program who has been using Sonia for the past 10 years and heard from Lumivero in November 2025 that they will be slowly migrating away from Sonia and onto the ELC platform. I believe that they are currently meeting with all current users of Sonia to discuss what a transition to ELC would look like. There isn't a firm date for them to discontinue use of Sonia, but it sounds like the goal is within the next couple of years. We are gathering more information about ELC, and so I'd love to hear how folks who use it like it (e.g. pros, cons, considerations). I so appreciate this group and the continued support of each other!

    In community,

    Amanda



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    Amanda Campbell
    Associate Director of Social Work Internships
    Metropolitan State University of Denver
    +1 (303) 615-1835
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    Original Message


  • 9.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 2 days ago
    Edited by Matt Hooper 2 days ago



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    Jostalynn Parry
    Millersville University of Pennsylvania
    Millersville PA
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    Original Message


  • 10.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 16 days ago
    Hi all, 
    If anyone is interested in talking about Exxat's Prism software, let me know - we've been using them for about 8 years, and I'll actually be transitioning soon from my role as field director to working for them full-time. They are really interested in refining the program to be more social work-specific and asked me to come on as a social work specialist. We've had a great experience working with them overall - students have lifetime access and we don't pay for them again if they move from the BSW to the MSW program, and they've helped us design workflows for our field applications, learning contracts, and evaluations that are really user-friendly. Their customer service is available 24/7 via chat and super responsive. Our program is smaller than yours, Katie (we have about 200 students) but I don't see any reason the platform wouldn't work just as well with a larger group. The reports, agency contracts, etc. are really easy to navigate. 
    I'm happy to connect you with someone who can schedule a demo or (in a few weeks) set up a time when I can do that for you myself!
    Thanks, 
    Katy Allen
    Director of Field Education
    Western Carolina University


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    Catherine "Katy" Allen
    Director of Field Education
    Western Carolina University
    828-227-2094
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    Original Message


  • 11.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 12 days ago

    Jostalynn,

    Thanks so much for sharing this helpful information. Do you have any information on the cost of the yearly fee they are charging students?

    Susan McKee, LMSW

    Marist University



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    Susan McKee
    Marist University
    Poughkeepsie NY
    845-575-2952
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    Original Message


  • 12.  RE: Communication that "Sonia is phasing out"

    Posted 17 hours ago

    Thank you so much for creating this post since this is the situation that we are also navigating!

    We have had Sonia for about 4 years and are currently 1 year into a 5 year contract with them.  We were told that Sonia will no longer be supported (although I believe in theory you could keep using it) after December 2027.  When we met with Lumivero they said that Lumivero was planning to honor current contracts at the current price for Sonia (We are paying approximately 10,000/year for 300-400 students).  After the contract ends they reportedly plan to do price increases similar to what Sonia has done (around $1,000/year).  That being said, it seemed like the people we met with weren't super sure of how the financial aspect would play out so unless I get that info in writing, I'm not fully trusting it.  We also met with InPlace and Exxat Prism.  InPlace seemed ok, probably comparable to ELC.  Exxat Prism seemed really amazing with all sorts of features that would actually make field work easier and require less staff, in addition to tools that could be used by the department as whole.  However, Exxat quoted $5,000 per year plus $215/student.  (InPlace was cheaper than Exxat but more than Sonia) The significant price difference from Sonia is something that I doubt our department would be willing to take on.  It sounds like users adopting ELC for the first time who are not transitioning from Sonia will be paying significantly more than Sonia users.  If that is your situation, I would encourage you to take a look at other options first since the price difference may not be so substantial. Also, for those that aren't familiar, ELC is Tevera with a few additional features.  Most training materials for ELC still say Tevera.

    If anyone else is using an option other than InPlace, Exxat, Sonia, ELC/Tevera that you like and is worth looking into, I would love to know.

    Johanna Barkei

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    Johanna Barkei
    Field Director
    University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
    414-229-4983
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    Original Message


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