UCSC Curriculum Systems

A number of systems on campus support processes related to curriculum management, course scheduling, the course catalog, and academic advisement reporting (also known as degree audit reporting). Some of these systems are vendor-provided, while others were developed specifically by and for members of the campus.

Below is a census of curriculum systems originally in place, new systems implemented as part of the project, and campus systems that are not specifically dedicated to curriculum but contribute data and functionality to curriculum systems.

Curriculum Systems Originally In Place

Online Curriculum Approval

The Online Curriculum Approval (OCA) system was implemented in 2012 to replace the paper-based process previously used for reviewing course approvals and program statements at the undergraduate and graduate levels. It was intended to be a short-term solution to relieve significant bottlenecks while waiting for a more robust, longer-term solution.

OCA was replaced by the Curriculum Approval and Tracking System (CAT) as part of Phase I of this project

General Catalog

The general catalog is an annual publication containing information about the campus and academic programs; documenting the general requirements for graduation and the specific requirements for every degree, minor, designated emphasis, and certificate offered by the University; and containing a complete course listing as of the time of publication. The general catalog is the contract between the University and the student establishing what is needed to graduate and is the basis for catalog rights for the year of publication.

At the start of the project, the catalog was published using the WCMS system (see below). As part of Phase I, the catalog moved to a vendor-hosted system tightly integrated with the new curriculum approval system and AIS.

Campus Curriculum and Leave Planning (CCLP)

The Campus Curriculum and Leave Planning system (CCLP) supports a variety of academic planning and scheduling functions including:
  • Campus curricular planning
  • Course scheduling
  • Faculty leave planning for academic departments, divisions, colleges, and interdisciplinary programs
  • Manages temporary academic staffing including Teaching Assistants, Course Assistants, Readers and Tutors
  • Providing executive level information for use in forecasting trends and managing campus level resources
CCLP runs on an outdated and unsustainable platform. It is slated to be replaced as part of Phase II of the project.

Resource25

Resource25 was a scheduling system used by the Office of the Registrar to schedule class rooms and one-time events. Resource25 interfaced with the schedule of classes in the Academic Information System (AIS)

Resource25 also provided the Classrooms WebViewer, a web-based calendar view of class assignments and one-time events. Users could search to view information about classes, events, and spaces.

Resource25 was retired by the company that developed it in 2019. As part of the project, Resource 25 was replaced by 25Live, which is essentially an upgraded replacement for Resource25 from the same company.

Academic Advising Report (AAR)

The AAR is an online report that analyzes how much progress students have made toward fulfilling University requirements, General Education requirements, and specific requirements for any majors or minors they have declared or proposed; and what is left for them to do.

The current AAR uses technology that is delivered with AIS/Peoplesoft. Phase III of the project will address improving or replacing the current AAR system.

Campus Systems Supporting Curriculum

AIS

AIS (Academic Information System) is our student information system. It is the system of record for all student records, all courses, the schedule of classes, the campus community, and many other things.

The system is based on the Oracle/PeopleSoft Campus Solutions platform.

While AIS itself will not be replaced as part of the project, we anticipate all systems implemented as part of the project will tightly integrate with AIS as the system of record

Web Content Management System (WCMS)

The Web Content Management System (WCMS) is a general-purpose system that manages the content of websites. It is not specifically designed for curriculum

Prior to Phase I, the General Catalog was published using WCMS, but it is now published using a vendor-hosted system. While WCMS no longer hosts the catalog, we continue to publish information on WCMS-developed websites containing information relevant to curriculum.

Div Data

The DivData system supports the management of administrative data, recruitment information, bibliographies and reviews for UCSC academic personnel.

Some curriculum systems, particularly those part of Phase II of the project, use data from Div Data to fulfill their mission.

Data Warehouse

The Data Warehouse is a repository for data of interest to the whole campus and hosted by the Office of Planning and Budget.

Info View

InfoView is a system used to build reports, from simple to complex, based on data in the Data Warehouse. While there is substantial reporting available within curriculum systems, some users augment those reports with data pulled using InfoView. InfoView may play a larger role in curriculum reporting as we work through Phase II of the project.

Curriculum Systems Implemented as Part of Phase I of the Project

The New General Catalog

The new General Catalog implemented as part of Phase I of the project is developed and published using a vendor-hosted system. It is tightly integrated with CAT (see below), provides significant functionality and usability improvements over the previous catalog published using WCMS, and has a modern look and feel.

Curriculum Approval Tracking (CAT)

CAT replaced OCA in Phase I of the project. CAT offers significant improvements over OCA in terms of ease of access to information; converting over 20 individual forms that had to be filled out and uploaded into a single online form; and providing a much faster turnaround for changes needed to workflows or forms.

25Live

25Live replaced the earlier Resource25 application. While functionality remains nearly the same, 25Live provides a better interface for users of the system.

The Classrooms Web Viewer, part of Resource25, has been replaced by a feature of 25Live that allows users to view the same information directly in 25Live without having to log in, while the rest of the site remains password protected.