Project Freeze in the SIS Domain Begins February 2024

The Student Information System (SIS) Project core team has been preparing for change freezes for several months, and starting February 2024, change freezes will officially begin taking effect for projects within the student information services domain. They will continue throughout the duration of the SIS Project. 

What to Know About Change Freezes

Change freezes are a normal part of implementing or transitioning to new systems. They are essential for success as they allow functional and technical stakeholders to focus on the project they are supporting, which in this case is the SIS Project. We are planning for two types of freezes: a project freeze and data freezes. The project freeze suspends most projects in the student information services domain to create capacity for the new SIS implementation, while data freezes will ensure data integrity during migration.

The scheduled February freeze is for all projects within the student information services domain. The SIS Project core team will provide more information on anticipated data freezes as work progresses and details become clearer. 

Projects Impacted 

Projects within the student information services domain must be completed as soon as possible; however, if they will continue past January 31, 2024, they must request an exception to the project freeze to continue. This strategy prioritizes the new SIS implementation by temporarily halting other work in the student information services domain and enabling both functional and technical stakeholders to focus their coordinated efforts on the SIS Project. 

As we proceed with the SIS Project, the project team will regularly assess the work landscape and begin lifting the project freeze, gradually resuming work in the student information services domain. 

Exemptions and Exceptions Process

It is important to note the difference between a project exception and a project exemption. An exemption is for critical projects that meet specific requirements and can proceed without the freeze's impact. On the other hand, a project exception can be granted to avoid a freeze and allow a project to continue. 

Projects are exempt from the freeze under the following circumstances:

• SIS Project critical dependencies: Part of the SIS Project's primary work and a dependency for the go-live of the new student information system 
• Ongoing maintenance: Part of ongoing maintenance required to keep critical systems operational – “keeping the lights on” – and cannot be deferred
• Compliance requirements: Required for meeting federal, state or local law compliance, security or UCOP mandates, and cannot be deferred

Exception requests will be reviewed in the order they are received by the SIS Project team, the Student Information Systems Committee (SISC) and the project sponsor, Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth H. Simmons. Projects will be evaluated according to a rubric developed by the SIS Project core team and the SISC, and the ultimate decision of whether a project is granted an exception will be made by the SISC and the Executive Vice Chancellor.

What’s Next?

The SIS Project team will continue engaging with stakeholders affected by the change freeze to provide them with the necessary information, resources and support. We aim to maintain open communication throughout the duration of the freeze.

We are grateful for the questions and concerns regarding the freezes shared thus far and the active support and cooperation we have received. We will continue to work closely with all stakeholders to ensure a positive outcome.

Please refer to the Change Freeze FAQ for more information on change freezes; if you cannot access this FAQ page, please contact esr-student@ucsd.edu.