MyPortal
The district's single web portal that gives students and employees personalized, one-stop access to district applications, services, and announcements.
MyPortal is the central online gateway for Foothill–De Anza. It provides students, faculty, and staff with a single, personalized place to reach the district services and applications relevant to them, accessed at myportal.fhda.edu using a Campus Wide ID (CWID) and password.
The purpose of MyPortal is to unify what would otherwise be many separate systems behind one sign-on experience. From the portal, students can register for classes, view grades and records, check financial aid, and access their degree audit, while employees reach administrative tools, forms, and resources. Rather than remembering many different web addresses and logins, users navigate from one familiar hub.
The district has modernized MyPortal with a redesigned, card-based interface. Each service or tool appears as a "card," and users can personalize their experience: marking frequently used cards as favorites, dragging cards to arrange them, and using a Discover page to search for cards by keyword. The home page shows a user's favorite cards along with district announcements, so important messages reach the community directly within the portal.
MyPortal also serves as the launch point for many other systems — including Degree Works, the IT Project Request system, and various Adobe Sign and LiquidOffice forms — and its credentials are reused for related services such as the VPN and Virtual Desktop.
For the district, MyPortal is the public face of its application environment. It simplifies access, supports consistent and secure logins, and provides a reliable channel for communicating announcements to students and employees.
Adobe Acrobat Sign
A cloud-based electronic signature and document-workflow service used to send, sign, and manage agreements and forms digitally.
Adobe Acrobat Sign (often referred to simply as "Adobe Sign") is the district's electronic signature platform. It allows employees to prepare documents, route them to one or more recipients for legally binding electronic signatures, and track each document's status from sent to completed. Because the entire process happens online, it removes the need to print, hand-sign, scan, and physically route paperwork between offices and campuses.
Within FHDA, Adobe Sign is used for a wide range of approval and intake processes. A key feature in district use is the web form, a hosted, fillable form that staff or the public can complete and submit online; the submission then flows into a signature and approval routing process. One concrete example is the cohort creation requisition form, which departments use to request the creation of student cohorts and which is delivered as an Adobe Sign form.
The platform supports reusable templates, automatic reminders, and a complete audit trail for every transaction, which helps the district maintain consistent records and meet documentation requirements. Adobe Sign integrates with common productivity tools and works on desktop and mobile devices, so signers do not need an Adobe account to complete a document sent to them.
For the district, the practical value of Adobe Sign is faster turnaround on approvals, reduced paper handling, and a reliable, centralized record of who signed what and when. It is used by administrative and academic departments across both colleges and Central Services wherever a signed form, agreement, or authorization is required.
LiquidOffice
An electronic forms and forms-automation system used to replace paper forms with online forms that route automatically for completion and approval.
LiquidOffice is the district's electronic forms management platform. It allows the district to convert paper-based forms into digital forms that employees can fill out online, submit, and route automatically to the appropriate people for review and approval. The district has adopted an updated, improved version of LiquidOffice to modernize this experience.
The core purpose of LiquidOffice is to streamline form-driven business processes. Instead of printing a form, completing it by hand, and physically carrying or mailing it for signatures, users complete a structured online form whose data is captured electronically and moved through a defined workflow. This reduces lost paperwork, speeds up approvals, and creates a consistent electronic record of each submission.
At FHDA, LiquidOffice is used for administrative forms that involve multiple steps or approvers. One example documented for district users is the timesheet process for CSEA-represented employees recording over/extra time worked in another department — a process where a "preparer" enters information into a LiquidOffice form that then routes for the necessary approvals. Many similar internal forms across departments follow the same pattern.
LiquidOffice is an OpenText product designed specifically for organizations that handle large volumes of forms and need reliable routing, data capture, and record-keeping. Its strengths are structured data collection, automated routing logic, and integration with an organization's existing systems and records.
For the district, LiquidOffice complements other tools: where Adobe Sign focuses on signing and approving documents and agreements, LiquidOffice focuses on structured internal forms and their workflows. Together they support the district's broader move away from paper. LiquidOffice helps ensure that routine administrative processes are faster, more trackable, and consistently documented.
SARS
A student appointment-scheduling and tracking system used by counseling and student-services areas to manage appointments and drop-in visits.
SARS is the district's scheduling system for student services. It is used by areas such as counseling and advising to schedule, track, and manage student appointments, as well as to handle drop-in visits and monitor student traffic through service areas. The product family includes SARS Grid and the web-based SARS Anywhere, produced by SARS Software Products.
The purpose of SARS is to organize the flow of students through appointment-based services. Staff can set their availability, book appointments, record visits, and keep an accurate picture of their schedule. This helps student-services offices use their time efficiently and gives students a reliable way to meet with counselors and advisors.
SARS works alongside other district tools. Staff can export their SARS schedule into their Outlook calendar, so appointments appear next to their other commitments in Microsoft 365. SARS can also be configured to work with Zoom, which supports remote and online appointments by associating video-meeting details with scheduled sessions. District documentation also covers operational housekeeping such as resolving "phantom" drop-in records, reflecting how the system is actively used to keep appointment data clean.
Because SARS is used in a counseling and advising context, accurate scheduling data matters both for serving individual students and for understanding overall demand for student-services support. Some SARS access at the district is provided through remote desktop servers reached over the VPN, consistent with how other internal applications are delivered.
For the district, SARS is the operational backbone of appointment-based student support — the system that connects students with counselors and helps student-services areas manage their daily workload.
Clockwork
A specialized scheduling and case-management system used by disability support / accessible-education services to manage student accommodations.
Clockwork is the district's software for managing accessibility and disability support services. It is a purpose-built system used by the offices that serve students with disabilities — often called disability support programs, accessible education, or educational diagnostic services — to organize the accommodations and services those students receive.
The purpose of Clockwork is to handle the specialized workflows involved in disability support, which general-purpose systems are not designed for. This typically includes managing student case files and accommodation plans, scheduling and administering accommodated testing (such as exams that require extended time or a separate quiet room), coordinating services like note-taking or alternate-format materials, and booking appointments with disability-services counselors and staff. By keeping this information in one system, Clockwork helps these offices deliver accommodations consistently and keep accurate records.
Clockwork is widely used across colleges and universities specifically because accommodated testing and accommodation management are complex, high-volume processes with legal and compliance dimensions. Centralizing them in dedicated software helps ensure students reliably receive the accommodations they are entitled to, and that faculty, students, and staff stay coordinated around exam logistics and service delivery.
Within the district, Clockwork is delivered as an internal application. The district VPN documentation lists Clockwork among the software run on the district's remote desktop servers, which means staff reach it through a remote desktop session — and, from off campus, through the VPN. This is consistent with how the district provides access to other internal administrative applications.
For the district, Clockwork is the operational backbone of disability support services. It allows the staff who serve students with disabilities to schedule and track accommodations accurately, manage accommodated exams efficiently, and maintain the detailed, confidential records that this area of student support requires.
25Live
The district's event and space scheduling system, used to request, reserve, and manage rooms and event venues.
25Live, produced by CollegeNET, is the district's web-based scheduling system for rooms and events. Faculty and staff use it to find available spaces, request reservations, and manage the logistics of meetings and campus events. In MyPortal it appears as the "25Live Room Management" tool.
The purpose of 25Live is to give the district a single, accurate view of how its spaces are being used. Rather than tracking room bookings through email, paper calendars, or separate departmental lists, staff submit requests through one system that shows real-time availability and prevents double-booking. Each reservation captures the details of the event — its date, time, location, and requirements — in a consistent record.
At FHDA, 25Live is used to schedule classrooms, meeting rooms, and event venues for activities that fall outside the regular academic timetable. Requests are reviewed and confirmed by the offices responsible for the spaces involved, and users can view space availability before submitting a request.
The system supports recurring reservations, approval routing, and reporting on space utilization, which helps the district plan around its facilities and understand demand. Because it is web-based, staff can check availability and submit requests from any location.
For the district, 25Live is the operational backbone of space and event scheduling — the system that coordinates the shared use of district facilities and keeps room assignments accurate and conflict-free.
Maxient
A centralized case-management system used to document and manage student conduct, academic integrity, and behavioral or wellbeing concerns.
Maxient is the district's case-management system for student conduct and student concerns. It is used by faculty and staff to report conduct violations, academic integrity referrals, and behavioral or wellbeing concerns, and by the offices responsible for those areas to review, manage, and resolve each case. In MyPortal it appears as the "Faculty Maxient" tool.
The purpose of Maxient is to bring all conduct- and concern-related records into one secure system. Instead of reports living in individual inboxes or separate departmental files, each submission is captured in a structured record and routed to the appropriate office for follow-up. Because the information for a given student is gathered in one place, staff can see related history and respond in a coordinated, consistent way.
At FHDA, faculty and staff use Maxient to submit reports when they observe a conduct issue or have a concern about a student. Those reports are directed to the offices that handle student conduct and student support, where they can be reviewed, acted on, and documented through to resolution.
Centralizing this work matters because conduct and concern cases carry legal, compliance, and privacy obligations. Keeping records in a dedicated system supports consistent handling of cases, coordinated response across offices, and recordkeeping that aligns with FERPA and district policy.
For the district, Maxient is the system of record for student conduct and student concerns — the tool that connects the people who observe an issue with the offices equipped to respond, and that preserves an accurate, confidential account of how each case was handled.
Cornerstone
The district's learning and professional development platform, used to deliver and track employee training.
Cornerstone, produced by Cornerstone OnDemand, is the district's learning and talent development platform. It is used to deliver online training to employees, track their progress, and maintain a record of completed coursework. In MyPortal it is available to faculty and staff among the district's employee tools.
The purpose of Cornerstone is to give the district a structured, reliable way to manage employee learning. Instead of tracking training through emails, sign-in sheets, or separate records, the district assigns courses within one system that records who has completed what and when. This is particularly important for required compliance training, where accurate completion records are necessary.
At FHDA, employees use Cornerstone to complete both assigned and elective courses and to review their own training history. Supervisors and Human Resources use the platform to assign training, monitor completion, and support professional growth across the district.
Cornerstone offers a course catalog, automated assignment and reminders, and reporting on completion, which helps the district keep training current and consistent. Because it is cloud-based, employees can complete coursework from any location and at their own pace.
For the district, Cornerstone is the central platform for employee training and professional development — the system that ensures required training is completed and documented, and that supports ongoing learning for the district's workforce.
Student Mobile Apps
Smartphone apps for De Anza College and Foothill College that give students mobile access to college information and self-service tools.
De Anza College and Foothill College each offer a student mobile app, available for Apple and Android devices through the App Store and Google Play. The apps were introduced alongside the redesign of MyPortal, and students sign in to them with the same Campus Wide ID (CWID) and MyPortal password they use for the portal itself.
The purpose of the mobile apps is to extend the most commonly used MyPortal services to a phone or tablet. Rather than sitting down at a computer, a student can carry out routine tasks wherever they are — checking a schedule between classes, making a payment, or looking up a campus location on the way to an appointment.
From the apps, students can read campus news and events, browse the schedule of classes, register for courses, view their weekly class schedule, pay bills, search the campus directory, and find their way using a campus map, among other features. The home screen presents these services as tiles, echoing the card-based design of MyPortal.
Although each college publishes its own branded app, the two are built on the same platform and share the district's single sign-on. Because of this, a student can register for De Anza classes using the Foothill College app and for Foothill classes using the De Anza app — a convenience for the many students who take courses at both colleges.
For the district, the student mobile apps put core services within easy reach on the devices students use most — supporting timely registration, payments, and access to college information without requiring a desktop computer.