Technology Bolsters Training Compliance at UC Davis
Quick Summary
- Launched on July 1, 2026, UC Davis introduced a Mandatory Training Compliance program to help campus employees meet cybersecurity training deadlines.
- Employees who miss their training deadline are automatically redirected to the UC Learning Center upon logging into core university services.
- Once mandatory training is completed, the system automatically restores access to all affected services, resulting in a 10% jump in campus compliance rates shortly after launch.
This year, UC Davis reaffirmed its commitment to a culture of security and resilience across our digital environments. To meet a systemwide mandate and guard against a rising tide of cyberattacks in higher education, the campus set out to build a system that guides employees to complete mandatory cybersecurity training and supports them in the process.
The result, launched on July 1, 2026, is a Mandatory Training Compliance program, which helps employees to complete their required annual training by their individual deadlines. Multiple teams across campus worked together to design a system that combines HR expertise with technical innovation, and augments the campus overall training compliance rates.
Only a few weeks after launch, the campus compliance rate climbed over ten percent from earlier in the year.
Email and Digital Reminders Meet Employees Where They Are
"Complete the training, stay connected." was the theme of the program. While the system already sent employees email reminders at 30, 14, 7, 2, and 1 day(s) out, login alerts appearing 14 days before deadline were added. Managers also receive more frequent reminders for members of their teams. As a result, employees and their supervisors always know exactly where they stand and can use these reminders to plan ahead.
If a deadline is missed, the technology steps in with a built-in intercept: employees attempting to log into core services like Google Workspace, Box, MyInfoVault, or myucdavis are redirected to the UC Learning Center to complete their training.
Access Is Restored Within the Hour
Once an employee completes the training, their access to all affected services is automatically restored within the hour. For extensions or other special circumstances, employees can contact a designated HR representative or academic personnel contact in their unit.
A Cross-Campus Collaboration
Several units, including Human Resources, Academic Affairs, Office of the Chief Information and Digital Strategy Executive, Information and Educational Technology and others, were actively engaged to ensure the success of this initiative. In addition to a technical solution, HR processes were updated to reflect the new requirements.
Looking Ahead
While this compliance effort currently applies only to the UC Cyber Security Awareness Fundamentals training for employees on the Davis campus, it will eventually expand to include additional required training courses and other employee populations in future phases.
As the program expands, UC Davis will carry forward the same principle that made this rollout a success: using technology to enable efficiency and effectiveness, strengthen our overall cybersecurity posture and enhance the campus experience.