SLcM Training: Setting the Stage

The ISIS Replacement Project officially began on March 1, 2024, and our implementation team wasted no time digging into the system selected to replace ISIS, called Student Lifecycle Management, or SLcM. Between March 11 and March 22, members of our implementation team participated in two weeks of vendor-provided training with our partners iLSI and NTT to learn more about the SLcM product and its capabilities. During the week of March 11, implementation team members participated in a full week of introductory training to learn about and familiarize themselves with the general capabilities of the system. Some of these folks also participated in a second week of training to get even more into the technical details of the system. 

Despite the great amount of time and effort put into training, members of the implementation team were gracious enough to talk to me and answer some questions regarding the training they just completed. I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you their thoughts about the training and the opportunities that SLcM will provide us as a replacement for ISIS, as well as what to look forward to in the months and years to come. 

Replacing ISIS

You may recall our article regarding the need to replace ISIS from last year, and the same concerns we discussed regarding ISIS then were discussed by this group now. They mentioned that the need to replace ISIS is great and that this system represents an opportunity to move away from the aging mainframe and to something that will provide security and stability and enable us to focus on the future. This opportunity to replace ISIS will allow us to provide a unified student information system for all of UC San Diego. Andrew Kaplan, Director of Client and Student Services at the Division of Extended Studies, is excited to see how we will “blend all the different parts of the University together into one unified student information system” and how all the “pieces [will] fit together.”

Learning SLcM Capabilities

In order for the SLcM system to be successfully implemented with our university, there are two things we must know. We must know what the system is capable of, and then we must know how those capabilities will match with our systems and intricacies. Husnaa Jamshed, Information Systems and Configurations Analyst for IT Services, told me that the training provided them the opportunity to be “guided through the features of the system, even if we may not be using all of them, to ensure that we know what we will need to make processes work.” Andrew adds that “the focus of the training was to show how the system works,” and that there were “times throughout the training where [we] took a deeper dive into the way UC San Diego could use it.” The team is excited to learn more about the features of SLcM and how they will be implemented for us.

Exciting Opportunities

One of the reasons that we are seeking to replace ISIS is one that many of you may be acutely aware of. For some time, ISIS has required a large amount of manual work that takes time away from our staff to serve our students. Andrew mentioned to me that “so many of our processes are driven by manual intervention on some level and it appears that this system allows for many of those to be done en masse.” Husnaa similarly is excited about how the “system will provide staff with more automated processing… and staff will benefit from the ability to access, update and report on student information in a more streamlined manner.” Andrew adds that this will “allow the focus of staff time to be dedicated to the student experience which helps the UC San Diego community.”

The team also mentioned other capabilities that they are excited for. Husnaa mentioned to me that, while we are still learning and planning exactly how we will implement SLcM to fit the needs of the university, she is excited for the possibilities of a more “intuitive navigation” for staff than we have with ISIS. The team is excited to continue to learn more about the system and how it will be adapted to fit the needs of our students, faculty and staff. 

Setting the Stage

In order to effectively do that, we have to turn the page to the next chapter of the story: the Design phase. Andrew mentioned to me that this training has “set the stage” for the future design sessions. Husnaa appreciated that the training provided “both the technical and business teams with a general overview of SLcM’s capabilities, while also giving us a better understanding of how to structure process design sessions.” Jackrin Vipatapat, Business Systems Analyst for IT Services, said that “more questions than answers” have come from training, and it is our responsibility to seek those answers as we move forward. It is within those upcoming design sessions that the team will take what they have learned in the training and apply it to new SIS to specifically meet the university’s needs. 

Turning the Page

Here is where you and I come in: We are part of the next chapter in the story. The upcoming design sessions will begin in May and will run through March 2025. The organizational change management (OCM) team will be working collaboratively with the implementation team to proactively listen to your needs and concerns, as well as those of the campus. We will be coming in to talk to you during OCM engagements, such as listening sessions and office hours, that will be offered throughout the project, because we want to know how we can make this new system work for you. This is a massive undertaking and it will be a great collaborative effort. The team has already seen so many great conversations amongst the trainers and trainees, as well as folks across the campus. 

We appreciate your efforts to stay informed and engaged throughout this project and we look forward to listening to your questions and concerns. Husnaa mentioned to me that she is “really excited for making this transition” and Andrew stated  that he is “excited to go on this journey with everyone involved to help mold the direction of the institution for the future.” I am excited to go on that journey with you as well! We look forward to keeping you up to date on the project, and we look forward to hearing from you about your needs for this system.

Special thanks to: 

• Husnaa Jamshed
• Andrew Kaplan
• Jackrin Vipatapat
• And others who contributed to this article