Student Information System Selection FAQ

The contract for a new student information system (SIS) has been awarded to invenioLSI, SAP’s North American distributor for their Student Lifecycle Management (SLcM) product. 

Preparation for project kickoff is currently underway and the project is expected to kickoff in early 2024. Read the Campus Announcement and check out this article for more details.

University and project leaders have heard the campus community’s concerns about ensuring a smooth and successful implementation of a new SIS. Because of this, and to allow sufficient time for planning, preparation, testing and training, the new SIS is planned to go live in 2026, pending readiness of the system and the university. A more specific date for go-live will be shared once it has been confirmed.

We acknowledge that much of the university community is aware of the long-awaited replacement for ISIS and may understandably have doubts regarding the implementation of SAP Student Lifecycle Management (SLcM). However, the replacement of ISIS with SLcM is of utmost importance to our project sponsor, Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth H. Simmons, as well as the entire leadership of UC San Diego. 

The responsibility of realizing this priority lies with the project governance, the Student Information Services Committee (SISC). The co-chairs of SISC regularly update the executive leadership on the project's progress and promptly address any obstacles that may hinder its advancement.

It is the collective objective of all individuals involved in the project to implement the new SIS (SLcM) thoughtfully and as scheduled while putting into practice the lessons learned from previous project experiences. As we move forward with this project, we will continue to prioritize the needs of our faculty, staff and student users, seek to improve and optimize the user experience and ensure the system allows users to do the work they need to do within the system. 

As we work together with the wider university community to implement SAP Student Lifecycle Management (SLcM), we will set shared expectations based on best practices and lessons learned from previous projects to ensure success for everyone involved. Learn more about our shared expectations.

Our goal with the SIS Project is to provide high-quality student experiences. To do this, we need to look at business practices and to introduce technology that safeguards the student experience by ensuring our continued, uninterrupted operations, which means moving off of ISIS and on to a more robust system.

For more information on why it’s important for us to replace ISIS now, please read this article.

Effective as of February 1, 2024, a freeze is in place for all projects in the student information services domain. Stakeholders impacted by this project freeze have been informed and the SIS Project core team is working closely with them to make plans to accommodate the freeze. No new projects in the student domain will begin until after the closing of the Student Information Systems (SIS) Project.

Project work currently underway in the student domain will be completed as soon as possible. Any work that will continue past January 31, 2024 needs to request an exception to the project freeze, which will be reviewed by the Student Information Systems Committee (SISC) and Executive Vice Chancellor Elizabeth H. Simmons.

For more information about the project freeze, please review this presentation by the SIS Project core team explaining the details. (Note: Since this presentation was recorded, the effective date of the freeze was moved from January 1, 2024 to February 1, 2024.) For more information on how to request an exception to the freeze, please email esr-student@ucsd.edu. 

The SIS Project core team is preparing the formal kickoff of the SLcM Project, currently anticipated for early 2024. Preparation activities underway include:

• Measuring the readiness of the university and those involved and affected by the project to undertake this transformational change
• Business and technical owners are establishing a shared understanding of success for the project
• Forming the committees, coalitions and teams that will support and execute the project
• Meeting with the vendor, invenioLSI, to inform the development of change management plans to ensure communications, training and resourcing are integrated into the overall project plan
• Completing an initial risk assessment and developing risk management plans
• Meeting with stakeholders impacted by the change freezes to address any questions or concerns they may have

Once these activities have concluded and we receive approval from governance and the executive sponsor the project will kick off and the implementation team will begin working with invenioLSI on executing the project plans.

The project team is committed to sharing project updates from start to finish. To receive the most comprehensive and up-to-date information, please subscribe to the SIS project newsletter.

In order to succeed we need your partnership, collaboration and insight. Please continue to communicate your questions, concerns and needs with the team. If you would like the SIS Project team to join you at a department meeting to discuss the project with you and your colleagues, we’re happy to do so. You can reach us by emailing esr-student@ucsd.edu.