CMSX Team in front of Gates Hall

Cornell Course Management System X

CMSX was developed by the Department of Computer Science to simplify the management of large courses. It is in use by more than 8000 students in over 100 courses at Cornell.

Go to CMSX

Product Update: New Dashboard

CMSX Dashboard with current assignments and past assignments and quizzes

CMSX is always changing! The team is working very hard at enhancing the user experience for students, graders, and administrators alike. Explore some of the newest features and enhancements to the system.

CMSX Principles

The CMS design is driven by several important principles:

Matching user workflow

CMS was designed with the workflow of staff and students in mind, based on continuous feedback over years.

Keeping history

Nothing can be permanently deleted in CMS, and every action is logged and can be found later by searching.

Security

CMS has a fine-grained but usable access control system recognizing the different roles of students and staff.

Project Timeline

CMSX has changed throughout the years, now being radically different from when it was first created.

Fall 2024
CMSX version 6.0 marks a new era for the project, reaching a more stable and well architected system marked by a more mature New UI, Classic UI, and transaction framework.
Spring 2024
CMSX version 5.4 bolsters security and core infrastructure. Re-architecture of API framework and React state management begins.
Fall 2023
CMSX version 5.2 adds greater CSV functionality. Numerous bugs are squashed!
Spring 2023
CMSX version 5.0 debuts built on Jakarta EE with Java 11.
Spring 2022
CMSX version 4.4 brings more features to the Beta New UI.
Fall 2020
CMSX version 4.3 releases a new New UI built in React an open beta.
Fall 2017
CMS renamed to CMSX, and version 4.0 is in wide-spread use.
Spring 2017
CMS version 4.0 (JPA version) first released for use by 21 courses.
Fall 2015
Development of a new version of CMS based on JPA and the Fabric implementation begins.
Fall 2009
Core functionality of CMS is ported to the Fabric distributed object system with notable results.
Spring 2008
A pilot project based on CMS 3.3 is being run by CIT. Courses outside the CS department will be using CMS.
Fall 2007
CMS version 3.3 adds support for quizzes and surveys.
Spring 2007
CMS version 3.2 based on J2EE is now the standard version of CMS in use, and the PHP system is being phased out.
Fall 2006
CMS version 3.2 adds support for scheduling student meetings.
Spring 2006
CMS version 3.1 is in use by more courses. The PHP system continues to be used as 3.1 matures.
Fall 2005
CMS version 3.0 (J2EE version) first released for use by a few courses.
Spring 2004 - Spring 2005
CMS Version 2.2 (PHP version).
Fall 2003
CMS Version 2.1 (PHP version) developed by CS; 23 CS/CIS Courses, 5 ECE/ORIE/MAE Courses. Development of J2EE CMS begins.
Spring 2003
CMS Version 2.0 (PHP version) developed by CS; 11 CS/CIS courses.
Fall 2002
CMS Version 1 (Perl version) developed by CS; 6 CS/CIS Courses.
Before Fall 2002
Various systems were in use for CS211, CS312, CS417, and other CS courses. A group of students and faculty then identified requirements for an improved CMS.