Over the past year, UCLA's One IT initiative has brought together IT leaders, staff, and stakeholders from across the university in a collaborative effort to better understand the campus technology landscape and develop a shared vision for the future of IT at UCLA.

As the Discovery phase concludes, the work completed by IT Unit Leads (ITULs), IT Consolidation Leads (ITCLs), Working Groups, and campus partners has provided an unprecedented understanding of UCLA's applications, infrastructure, services, operating models, and organizational capabilities. These efforts have established a strong foundation for the Design phase and identified opportunities to strengthen service delivery, improve operational efficiency, and enhance the digital experience across the university.

As of July 1, ITULs and ITCLs transitioned back to their home organizations as the formal Discovery reporting structure concluded. Although reporting relationships have changed, the collaboration, partnerships, and shared commitment built through this effort will continue to strengthen and support the next phase of One IT. 

As One IT enters the Design phase, campus stakeholders will work together to evaluate Discovery data, Working Group insights, benchmarking and recommendations to define a future-state operating model for UCLA. This work will help create a more consistent, secure, and equitable technology experience for faculty, staff, students, and researchers while advancing the University’s academic, research, and administrative missions.

One IT represents a long-term investment in UCLA's digital future. By creating a more unified, secure, and resilient technology environment, the initiative will help position the University to better support innovation, improve operational effectiveness, and advance UCLA's strategic priorities in the years ahead.

In alignment with UC Office of the President requirements, UCLA Information Security is launching an effort to replace the current campus endpoint detection and response (EDR) product. Beginning in August, a campuswide project will kick off to transition the current EDR product, Trellix HX, with Crowdstrike Falcon. Crowdstrike is an industry leader in the cybersecurity space and will provide greater detection and protection capabilities, helping to ensure the security of all university-owned systems. A phased rollout will be introduced in partnership with campus IT organizations to pilot and replace Trellix with Crowdstrike through June 2027.

The Network Unification program achieved three major milestones in July 2026 across Core Infrastructure Build, Telecommunications Room (TR) Pilot, and Device Registration workstreams, accelerating progress towards a modern, reliable, and resilient campus network. 

Core Infrastructure Build 

On July 11, the NU team completed the core infrastructure build, representing 75% of all backbone upgrades, and culminating in the program’s first major change, which routed production traffic from the legacy core to the new network. This was a critical milestone that validated the new infrastructure’s real-time performance and cleared the way for the Telecommunications Rooms (TR) Pilot to proceed.  

Telecommunications Room (TR) Pilot 

From July 14-29, the NU team executed TR Pilot migrations and wireless upgrades across four campus buildings: Campus Services Building 1, Knudsen Hall, Haines Hall, and Perloff Hall. The pilot successfully migrated 9 telecommunications rooms (TRs) and upgraded 21 general academic classrooms with next-generation Wi-Fi  — all with minimal impact to campus operations. The pilot also allowed the team to test and refine the end-to-end migration approach, gathering lessons learned that will improve the process for the broader campus rollout. 

Device Registration 

Finally, the NU team went live on July 21 with the first phase of the Device Registration Portal (DRP) for use by TR Pilot stakeholders. Device registration supports UCLA’s move to a zero-trust security model, enabling enhanced campus network security, access control, and visibility. Campus stakeholders will undergo DRP onboarding as a part of their wave’s pre-migration activities and begin using DRP after they transition to the new network. 

With these milestones now complete, Network Unification is ready to move into its next phase, bringing a modern, unified network to additional campus buildings and creating the resilient technology foundation UCLA will rely on for years to come.

Several important milestones are advancing UCLA's digital accessibility program as implementation efforts continue across campus.

As UCLA prepares for the new academic year, the Digital Accessibility Steering Committee is welcoming new leadership. We extend our sincere appreciation to Ralina Joseph, Vice Provost of Inclusive Excellence and Professor of African American Studies, for her service as outgoing co-chair. Joining Lucy Avetisyan, Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Information Officer, as co-chairs are Athena Jackson, Norman and Armena Powell University Librarian, and Erin Sanders O'Leary, Inaugural Vice Provost for Teaching and Learning.

This leadership team reflects the University's commitment to making digital accessibility a shared institutional responsibility. By bringing together expertise from academic libraries, teaching and learning, information technology, and campus leadership, the committee is well positioned to guide UCLA's continued progress in creating more accessible digital experiences. The Office of Inclusive Excellence will continue to play a key role in supporting this work through the University's digital accessibility governance framework.

Additional progress has been made in strengthening the University's accessibility program. Key coordinator roles established under IMT-1300 have been confirmed, providing continued leadership for policy implementation, accessibility consultation, course content support, and exception management. 

Implementation activities continue to gain momentum across campus. The Action Risk Teams have launched office hours to support campus partners, while an evaluation of PDF remediation solutions is underway to help improve the accessibility and sustainability of University content. Together, these efforts reinforce UCLA's commitment to building a more inclusive, accessible, and resilient digital environment.

As UCLA responds to changes introduced through the One Big Beautiful Bill legislation, teams across Financial Aid, Information Technology, Institutional Research, and campus operations are working in close partnership to assess impacts, implement required system updates, and ensure continuity of services for students. These changes have broad implications for financial aid eligibility, awarding, regulatory reporting, and student communications, requiring coordinated planning and execution across the University.

At the same time, the program is managing the complexity of a new aid year, summer awarding, disbursement readiness, and interdependent business and technology processes. These efforts underscore the importance of strong governance, proactive risk management, timely decision-making, and effective collaboration across functional and technical teams.

In parallel, the Bruin Financial Aid (BFA) program is transitioning from implementation to a sustainable operating model focused on continuous improvement, operational excellence, and long-term support. Teams are strengthening governance, refining support processes, increasing transparency around system enhancements and operational priorities, and identifying opportunities to improve efficiency while reducing operational risk.

The BFA Partners Forum continues to play a key role in fostering collaboration across campus, helping ensure stakeholders remain informed, aligned, and prepared as UCLA's financial aid ecosystem continues to evolve and adapt to future regulatory and institutional requirements.