CENIC is pleased to award the 2024 Innovations in Networking Award for Network-Enabled Cloud Applications: Education and Administration to the San Diego Community College District (SDCCD)’s project to move their Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI). This award is made in recognition of the SDCCD’s modernization and optimization of its educational and administrative services, thus ensuring a more efficient, scalable, and secure management of resources. The CENIC Innovations in Networking Awards recognize exemplary people, projects, and organizations that leverage high-bandwidth networking.
“This project promises to enhance operational efficiencies for the district and pave the way for advanced data analytics, ultimately fostering more data-driven teaching and learning,” said Louis Fox, CENIC’s Chief Executive Officer. “We’re delighted to honor what may become an excellent model for other community college districts in California and beyond.”
Supported by the CCC Technology Center and CENIC, and led by Peter Maharaj, Associate Vice Chancellor for Information Technology at the SDCCD and Cindy McCartney of the CCC Technology Center, this initiative involved a complex and imaginative two-part upgrade. It began with the migration of the PeopleSoft/Oracle ERP to the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure (OCI), accompanied by crucial enhancements to ensure a robust network with 99% uptime, heightened security measures, and improved connectivity services.
Then, the district significantly upgraded its wireless services, achieving uniformity across campuses, bolstering security, and laying a resilient platform for educational innovation.
“Our students, faculty, classified professionals, and administrators rely on our technology infrastructure to protect their privacy, ensure their safety, and facilitate teaching and learning,” said Gregory Smith, Chancellor for the SDCCD. “These investments demonstrate our commitment to earning the trust of our community members.”
A Secure, Robust, High-Availability Cloud Service
As the second largest California Community College district, the SDCCD serves nearly 100,000 students annually. Many of these students are at San Diego City College, San Diego Mesa College, and San Diego Miramar College.
However, the SDCCD also serves the San Diego College of Continuing Education (SDCCE)’s seven campuses. As SDCCE Vice President for Administrative Services Jacqueline Sabanos observed, “This recognition underscores SDCCD’s dedication to modernization, resulting in more efficient, scalable, and secure educational and administrative services. This achievement directly benefits the district, enhancing its ability to support all students and employees effectively.”
Astute Business Solutions provided an accelerated cloud migration service and moved San Diego Community College District to OCI in five months, building a secure, modern enterprise solution with high availability, disaster recovery, and automated monitoring and backups. The San Diego Community College District has been live since July 2023 and is running stable production, non-production, and disaster recovery instances on OCI now.
San Diego Campus Connect: Stable, Secure Wireless Access Throughout the SDCCD
In September 2023, the San Diego Community College District introduced a new Wi-Fi system to provide expanded and reliable Wi-Fi access to all campuses and District facilities. The main Wi-Fi system, called SDCCD-Campus-Connect, covers all buildings, including office spaces, classrooms, and study areas, along with outdoor areas. An additional network, SDCCD-Campus-Connect-Guest, is available to visitors at all SDCCD locations.
The system ensures stable and fast connections to the Internet, minimizing interruptions and delays for students and employees. Everyone in the District experiences a unified high-quality Wi-Fi that provides a seamless and consistent online experience. Full coverage throughout the campuses and District properties provides students and employees an extra level of safety as the security systems that rely on Wi-Fi, such as cameras and emergency communication tools, are better supported.
About CENIC | www.cenic.org
CENIC connects California to the world—advancing education and research statewide by providing the world-class network essential for innovation, collaboration, and economic growth. This nonprofit organization operates the California Research and Education Network (CalREN), a high-capacity network designed to meet the unique requirements of over 20 million users, including the vast majority of K-20 students together with educators, researchers and others at vital public-serving institutions. CENIC’s Charter Associates are part of the world’s largest education system; they include the California K-12 system, California Community Colleges, the California State University system, California’s Public Libraries, the University of California system, Stanford, Caltech, USC, and the Naval Postgraduate School. CENIC also provides connectivity to leading-edge institutions and industry research organizations around the world, serving the public as a catalyst for a vibrant California.
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