Overview

The University of New Mexico is a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a diverse student body. Freshman class enrollment at the university has grown for four straight years, with the class of 2027 the largest in its 135-year history. The university is one of 146 Carnegie Research I Universities nationwide and the only one in New Mexico. It is a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI), meaning 25% or more of full-time-equivalent undergraduate students identify as Hispanic or Latino. New Mexico has more than 2,500 faculty members across its 215 degree and certificate programs in 12 colleges and schools.

Problem

The university’s antiquated software system separated the curriculum and catalog processes and demanded too much manual labor, which led to errors and disorganization.  

Graduate students created the curriculum workflow process years ago. Faculty and staff filled out every form manually, and those forms lacked standardization, with faculty information the only required field. There were 900 courses, which meant 900 separate forms within the work process. It felt chaotic. “I was constantly looking at a long list of courses, not knowing where things were in the process. I had no information,” says University of New Mexico Associate Registrar for Catalog, Curriculum & Residency Michael Raine.

Under this system, the catalog was created in separate software that did not effectively support the university’s 1,000-page catalog. The curriculum and catalog workflows had no connection except for tedium — catalog information was also entered manually, introducing yet more opportunities for error. The format issues led to difficulty communicating problems with syllabi and other forms to faculty.

The university wanted a streamlined system to free up time for more strategic work. It outlined three requirements for the new software:

• Eliminating manual processing.
• Achieving cost efficiency.
• Appearing sleek and modern.

Solution

Following an RFP process, the University of New Mexico selected Kuali’s Curriculum Management and Academic Catalog, a configurable product that lets colleges and universities combine curriculum management and course catalog publishing in one tool. It provided the form architecture flexibility and technical collaboration options the university desired. Implementation began in late 2021 and early 2022.

“One of the key pieces in our decision was that Kuali offers the modern solution we were searching for,” said Ron Estrada, a member of the university’s central IT department and technical lead on the Kuali implementation. “The architecture was highly integratable.” He notes the availability of the SIS connector, an option allowing schools to integrate Kuali Curriculum Management with their student information system, also played a significant role in the software decision.

Implementation proved surprisingly easy. The IT department praised Kuali’s professionalism and organization, making the rollout pleasant and even enjoyable.

The Registrar’s Office provided one-on-one and group sessions to aid transition to the new software. It posted video and text guides for faculty and staff, walking them through an overview of Kuali as well as more specific tasks, such as how to approve forms, create new concentrations or revise existing ones. But much of the system was intuitive, says Raine. “As I used it, I learned, ‘Oh, these are things I don’t need help with—I only need help with it right now because it’s new to me,’” he says.

Results

Kuali helped New Mexico simplify and standardize the curriculum and catalog processes, giving the registrar’s office a time cushion to reimagine faculty forms. The implementation has transformed the university’s operations by improving efficiency and communication while creating a streamlined workflow. The ability to publish the catalog earlier and create multiple versions has sparked better communication and planning.

Making curriculum and catalog updates went from irritating to effortless. Kuali has responded to questions and requests for minor adjustments quickly. Raine praised the Kuali team’s project management skills, noting the collaboration level far outpaced what the university usually sees from a vendor. “I have been told that this was the best, smoothest implementation that the university has ever had with software,” Raine says.

Raine estimates Kuali has saved his office thousands of hours of work. “It changes me from being a monkey manager and pusher of forms to someone who can look more closely at what’s in the forms and take care of more minor issues before they go to the curriculum committees so that they can focus more qualitatively on what’s in the form,” Raine says. “I’m sure that our old system is long forgotten.”