STUDENT INFORMATION SYSTEM PROJECT
GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

October 21, 2025

ALL ACADEMICS AND STAFF AT UC SAN DIEGO

We are pleased to announce that an important part of Phase 1 for the CourseLeaf Project for curriculum management, the course approval form, was released on August 27 for main campus users and September 29 for the Division of Extended Studies users. Streamlining the submission and review of course approvals, both when creating new courses and changing existing courses, will improve our availability to respond to evolving curricular needs.

Project Summary

The CourseLeaf Project, which kicked off in 2023, is guiding the transition to a new curriculum management system. The CourseLeaf curriculum management system is a single, configurable tool that supports and enhances curriculum development and maintenance, including course and program approvals, catalog management and learning outcome assessment. CourseLeaf will replace functionality previously provided by eCourse, as well as add additional functionality. 

CourseLeaf will serve all areas of the university, bringing the School of Medicine, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, and the Division of Extended Studies into one system with the rest of campus. The CourseLeaf Project is one of many efforts currently underway as part of the Enterprise Systems Renewal (ESR) Student Information System (SIS) Project.

Go-Live Considerations

The project’s first phase focuses on course and program approvals (new degrees and curriculum changes), which are labor-intensive processes. The first release in this phase is course approvals, with the second release, program approvals, anticipated for 2026. The team strategically chose the summer quarter to launch the course approval form for main campus users to help stakeholders train to use the system before the start of the fall quarter. After a comprehensive evaluation of stakeholder and university readiness, project leadership voted to proceed with releasing the course approval form.

The system is a work in progress and there are enhancements that will be implemented after go live. The project team is committed to refining the tool over time, and feedback is essential. A Resources and Support One-Pager summarizes ways to provide feedback for main campus users.

Supporting the Transition

Main Campus

The team held two demonstration sessions with opportunities for questions from attendees. The July live demonstration had 72 participants and the August live demonstration had 51 participants. The recordings are available in the Resources and Support One-Pager, which also includes training information, weekly office hours, and lists additional communication channels. We recommend bookmarking the document to stay informed.

Division of Extended Studies (DES)

The team presented at the Academic Services Meetings (General Updates) in October, February, and May and held two cutover meetings in June, focused on demonstrations and the cutover plan. Attendance averaged around 30 people. The CourseLeaf DES Two-Pager provides additional support information and frequently asked questions to assist DES users. 

Next Steps

Implementing program approvals within CourseLeaf is the remainder of the project's first phase. The phased approach should help mitigate the impact of the numerous changes introduced by the SIS Project.

*Subject to change
**TSS Go-live date is Summer 2026

EVC Elizabeth H. Simmons, the SIS Project sponsor, and the governance committee appreciate the support from the Academic Senate and stakeholders who have participated in the project thus far.  

To learn more about the CourseLeaf Project, please visit the project webpage. For questions or concerns, please contact the project’s team at courseleaf@ucsd.edu.

Christine Alvarado
Interim Associate Vice Chancellor, Educational Innovation
Co-Chair, Student Information System (SIS) Project Governance Committee

Jonathan Whitman
Senior Director, Student Information Services, IT Services
Co-Chair, Student Information System (SIS) Project Governance Committee