Student Information System Update

January 29, 2020

Email Subject: Student Information System Update

Sender: Melissa Woo

Recipients: All MSU faculty and staff

Date Sent: Jan. 13, 2020

New Student Information System Implementation Paused in Response to Campus Feedback

As the Student Information System (SIS) Modernization Project approaches its first user-facing release of Campus Solutions on Feb. 3, 2020, Project executive leadership has determined it is necessary to pause our implementation and reevaluate our timeline. This decision was made after careful consideration of feedback from colleges, units, and end-users across the university and in response to what we have learned during the initial stages of the Project. Due to these factors, annual enrollment for summer and fall 2020 and spring 2021 will be completed in legacy SIS. At this time, students, faculty, advisors, and other staff members who participate in enrollment activities will see no changes to the processes or systems used to facilitate enrollment. Class schedules for fall 2020 and spring 2021 are anticipated to be available on schedule.msu.edu on Feb. 3, 2020.

It is a priority of the Project team and its executive governance to closely monitor change impacts associated with our implementation and prepare to mitigate and minimize any related risks. We have been listening carefully while meeting with colleges and units to inventory their SIS Landscape systems and while engaging stakeholders in the Change Coordinator Network and Reporting Advisory Group. What we have discovered in these dialogues is that more time is necessary to prepare campus for a new student information system. As a result, executive leadership and the SIS Project team have begun re-planning efforts and expect to share an updated implementation schedule by mid-April 2020.

SIS modernization represents a significant investment in the infrastructure supporting the university’s daily academic functions such as disbursing financial aid, reporting grades and degree conferment. A revised timeline affords us the opportunity to create an improved user experience in the new system and provide more robust user support during the transition. Colleges and units will have more time to adapt to change, ensuring better business continuity for both users and connected systems. With the help of our campus community, we uncovered additional opportunities to enhance student engagement, realize business process efficiencies, optimize SIS Landscape systems, and reduce technical debt. We will be able to capitalize on these opportunities with continued collaborative effort across campus. This involves sustained outreach and ongoing, active dialogue with our campus partners, which will be factored into re-planning efforts.

The tremendous accomplishments of the SIS Project team will remain assets for successful implementation of Campus Solutions as foundational functionality for the new system was delivered in Releases 1 and 2. Working in close partnership with campus stakeholders, valuable discovery work related to Landscape systems in colleges and units is largely complete, a new enterprise data warehouse is established, and collaborative networks for sharing information and gathering feedback are in place.

An agenda for the Feb. 6 SIS Campus Engagement event will be informed by questions registrants submitted for the canceled Jan. 9 SIS Town Hall. An invitation for the Feb. 6 event will be circulated shortly. Training opportunities slated for Jan. 20, 2020, through Jan. 30, 2020, will be cancelled and registrants will be notified. Members of the SIS Change Coordinator Network and Campus Solutions Reporting Advisory Group will continue to meet and should stay tuned for updates on adjustment to meeting cadence. Stakeholders in colleges or units who have been engaged with the Project regarding their SIS Landscape systems will be notified in the coming weeks about next steps for assessment.

On behalf of the SIS Executive Committee, thank you for your ongoing engagement with this important investment in student success at MSU. Please continue to visit sis.msu.edu for news and resources.

Melissa Woo, Senior Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer

Dave Byelich, Vice President, Office of Planning and Budgets

John Gaboury, Associate Provost, Academic Services, Enrollment Management, and Academic Initiatives

Jeff Grabill, Associate Provost for Teaching, Learning, and Technology

Mark Haas, Vice President for Finance and Treasurer

Thomas Jeitschko, Associate Provost for Graduate Education, Dean of the Graduate School

Mark Largent, Associate Provost for Undergraduate Education, Dean of Undergraduate Studies

Vincent Schimizzi, Associate Controller