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CIO Message | September 2024

Dear Colleagues:

As we begin the fall quarter, I’d like to share the IT Executive Dashboard along with a few key updates in support of our campus community.

  • The BruinALERT (Everbridge) team increased the reach of emergency notifications via SMS by 70% for students and 35% for employees, enhancing emergency notification capabilities for the fall term.
  • The FACET program, together with the Financial Aid & Scholarships (FAS) Office, successfully distributed $200 million in aid using mainframe systems updated to support the FAFSA Simplification Act. The team is now preparing for the first go-live of Oracle’s Student Financial Planning Module on November 1 supporting Institutional Student Information Record (ISIR) forms used to determine eligibility for financial aid for the next academic year.
  • Following UCLA’s agreement with Open AI, Digital & Technology Solutions has formalized an Artificial Intelligence (AI) initiative to drive the exploration and implementation of AI projects across campus, including Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini (web-grounded versions). As part of this effort, a call for proposals will soon be launched inviting ideas for using ChatGPT in teaching, learning or research. More information can be found on the Generative AI website .
  • A task force is continuing to lead the BruinBuy Plus Stabilization effort to improve business processes and make system enhancements. To ensure campus-wide support, the team is engaging the community and gathering input through pulse surveys to help identify areas for improvement.
  • The Security Transformation and Network Unification efforts are now part of the Bruin Connect and Secure program. The team is conducting Network Design Workshops across campus from September 23 to October 11, gearing up for fall implementations aligned with the UC Information Security Investment Plan, and preparing to roll out Trellix to all university-owned devices by November 22.
  • Regular reminders are being sent to ensure all UCLA Google Workspace users comply with new quotas or are registered for research quota extensions before the October 1 deadline. Further information is available on the How Am I Affected and Timeline pages.  
  • As of September 18, all UCLA students have access to Canva. The team is now working on streamlining the process for purchasing discounted Canva licenses for faculty and staff.

I look forward to sharing more of our progress with you next month.

Best regards,

Lucy Avetisyan
Associate Vice Chancellor
Chief Information Officer 
Information Technology Services

Resources

Digital Campus Initiatives

For questions or more information on the Digital & Technology Solutions portfolio resources, please email ocio@ucla.edu.