UM to tie together Web pages with new online portal system

A new portal system will allow University of Montana users to log on to several applications — such as CyberBear, e-mail accounts and Blackboard — using one login name and password. Currently, students must use different logins and passwords for each. Gordy Pace, UM director of Applications and Media Development, said the portal would be a valuable addition to the University.

Kayla Stewart
Montana Kaimin

http://www.kaimin.org/viewarticle.php?id=3809

“I think it has tremendous potential to improve the level of service and satisfaction students have,” said Pace, who’s steering the project. The project began a year ago, when the University was given a five-year grant that provided the licenses for the software and training, which cost $1.1 million. UM was one of almost 30 colleges that received grants to develop portal systems. Pace said each college shares information about what it has built through the grant lender, CampusEAI.

Pace said it is important for the colleges to exchange information to avoid duplicating their efforts. It has made the process go much faster, he said.

Pace said colleges are interested in developing portals because they provide students with the newest communication technology. “It’s the next generation of the Web,” Pace said, adding that there are two main reasons for the University to develop a portal: communication and access.

“It is to develop secure, reliable electronic communication channels from students to faculty to staff to prospective students and eventually alumni,” he said. “Also, it allows users more effective access to online tools out there.”

Pace said the portal would be a good way for the University to communicate with students. He said, for example, Business Services is trying to transition from paper bills to e-mail bills and payment. He said it has been met with mixed results because not all students check their University e-mail accounts. With the portal system, students would automatically have faster access to their e-mail accounts.

Jed Liston, UM assistant vice president for Enrollment, said it is also a good way for students to hear the word on things going on at the University without having to search for the information on the University’s Web site.

“It’s tough to get the word out if you are having a service or event,” he said.

Pace said although the first portal will probably be simple, eventually users would be able to customize their own portal.

“Users could say ‘I want to receive announcements from the business school, or the Faculty Senate,’” he said. “The University could send a targeted announcement to just the students graduating or to one individual student.”

He said eventually the portal could have short cuts to particular information or Web sites.

Liston is excited about the portal because it could seal the deal for students who have been accepted to UM, but have not made their decision to attend yet.

“We want to work with incoming students,” he said. “If we start them on the portal and having a community with the University, it might be valuable when they make their decision.”

Liston said the difference between potential students searching for information about UM on the Web site versus using a portal is that they could personalize what they are looking for in the college. “The portal would be tailored for them,” he said, making them feel more connected to the University.

Pace said they are working on a link that would allow them to find information regarding admissions status, dorm assignments and meal plans.

Liston said one thing the Enrollment Office has requested is that the portal have message boards.

“If they were interested in the debate team, they could interact (with the team),” he said. “They could get questions answered by asking current students. It would get people talking to one another in ways that you can’t get on a static Web site.”

But the dreams for the portal cannot be realized until it is complete and Pace said they are looking at early spring, when they will test run it on a group of students.

Liston said he tips his hat to Pace and the team building the system. “It’s a big task,” he said. “It’s a big, big job putting all this content together, but we’re very pleased with the progress.”