Coming Together: New SIS to Unify Campus and Extension
Posted on: 10/5/2020
Currently, UC San Diego operates with two student information systems: one for undergraduate, graduate, and the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy; and one for UC San Diego Extension. An exciting aspect of the Student Information System (SIS) project will be the transition to a single system for all student and learner data.
The SIS project will implement the core system of record for all academic and business transactions and functions throughout a student's academic lifecycle, whether that learning takes place on campus, at Extension, or in one of UC San Diego’s professional schools.
A high school student taking a UC San Diego course via concurrent enrollment, later studying at UC San Diego as an undergraduate, and continuing their learning via Extension post-graduation will interact with multiple systems over their time with us; to register, pay, and access their academic records.
The current mainframe student systems for campus and Extension were developed in the 1980s and no longer meet the university’s needs. A single, modern student system will provide a comprehensive solution, enhancing the student experience and allowing staff to be more efficient and effective in their work.
For Andrew Kaplan, Extension’s Director of Client & Student Services, a unified solution is key. “Moving to a unified SIS is imperative in streamlining our processes in order to optimize our resources and not duplicate efforts," he said. "As this is our core system, it will allow for a more synergistic approach to the student experience.”
Having a single system effectively meet the diverse educational and business needs of such a vast enterprise is no easy task, but it is one that the project team is tackling head on. Business processes for Extension, the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, and campus are being mapped and documented. What is learned will inform vendor selection, configuration, and implementation.
Kaplan is appreciative of both the collaborative approach and the end goal, saying, “I have been honored to go through this process with so many individuals working so diligently to improve our systems not only to minimize time and effort needed by our employees but to improve the experience for our students.”
A modern, configurable, and unified SIS will help ensure that UC San Diego's culture of innovation, ambition and data-driven decisions continue long into the future.
Virtual Conference Room Pilots will begin in Fall 2020, when selected vendors will demonstrate how their solutions meet the demands of real UC San Diego scenarios. One vendor will be chosen in February 2021. Implementing the chosen vendor's software is expected to take 18 months from the point the implementation begins.
The SIS project will implement the core system of record for all academic and business transactions and functions throughout a student's academic lifecycle, whether that learning takes place on campus, at Extension, or in one of UC San Diego’s professional schools.
A high school student taking a UC San Diego course via concurrent enrollment, later studying at UC San Diego as an undergraduate, and continuing their learning via Extension post-graduation will interact with multiple systems over their time with us; to register, pay, and access their academic records.
The current mainframe student systems for campus and Extension were developed in the 1980s and no longer meet the university’s needs. A single, modern student system will provide a comprehensive solution, enhancing the student experience and allowing staff to be more efficient and effective in their work.
For Andrew Kaplan, Extension’s Director of Client & Student Services, a unified solution is key. “Moving to a unified SIS is imperative in streamlining our processes in order to optimize our resources and not duplicate efforts," he said. "As this is our core system, it will allow for a more synergistic approach to the student experience.”
Having a single system effectively meet the diverse educational and business needs of such a vast enterprise is no easy task, but it is one that the project team is tackling head on. Business processes for Extension, the Schools of Medicine and Pharmacy, and campus are being mapped and documented. What is learned will inform vendor selection, configuration, and implementation.
Kaplan is appreciative of both the collaborative approach and the end goal, saying, “I have been honored to go through this process with so many individuals working so diligently to improve our systems not only to minimize time and effort needed by our employees but to improve the experience for our students.”
A modern, configurable, and unified SIS will help ensure that UC San Diego's culture of innovation, ambition and data-driven decisions continue long into the future.
Virtual Conference Room Pilots will begin in Fall 2020, when selected vendors will demonstrate how their solutions meet the demands of real UC San Diego scenarios. One vendor will be chosen in February 2021. Implementing the chosen vendor's software is expected to take 18 months from the point the implementation begins.
Kathleen D. Johnson is Academic Change Lead for the SIS project. For questions about the project contact esr-student@ucsd.edu.
Learn more about the SIS project at esr.ucsd.edu/student.