FSU’s Portal Project

Secure Applications in Blackboard

Jeff BauerOffice of Technology Integration

5/24/2005

Desired Portal Features

•Common, consistent layout and navigation•“Right content at the right time in the right place”•Single Sign-On with “pass-through” authentication to other systems, using one account (“FSUID”)•User-centric with dynamic content generation•Unified presentation of content and services from different systems•Connected to FSU home page (e.g., “FSYou” link)

Existing FSU Portals: Blackboard

Existing FSU Portals: PeopleSoft Financials, HR &

BusObj

Secure

Login

Existing FSU Portals: FSUID

FSUID Helpdesk

One Portal Solution?

• No one portal product can deliver native content from PeopleSoft and Blackboard

• Strategy should be to use an existing, proven portal technology to tie together as much content as possible.

• New FSU Home page should provide a login button for the unified portal (e.g., re-target “FSYou”?)

Which Portal?• Blackboard is arguably the longest

running portal framework with the largest user base running at FSU.

• Blackboard is well supported jointly by ODDL and OTI.

• Blackboard’s portal framework is maturing enough to consider it for custom content.

Secure Login• Secure Login, AKA “Online

Personalized Web Services” is used for the majority of student services (class schedules, registration, grades, Financial Aid, etc.), including a number of Student Affairs applications

• Now delivered in Blackboard (as of May 24th, 2005)!

Protecting Personal Information

• Replacement of SSNs by an FSU “Security Number” (FSUSN)

• Make student email addresses not publicly viewable (require a valid student, faculty or staff to log into Bb first)

• Keep employee work contact still public (http://directory.fsu.edu/search)

Used, for example, as secondary authentication for instructors entering grades on-line

Secure Login in Blackboard

• “SSO” for all Blackboard & Secure Apps• Secure Apps navigation is preserved• FSUID-only authentication (no more use of

Webnames, SSNs, etc. to log in)• Students go to one place now, instead of two• Existing external links to Secure Login

applications will still work as-is (e.g. studentsfirst.fsu.edu, portfolio.fsu.edu, etc.)

The Future• Next phase: re-write Secure Login

applications to be “native” in Bb• Move FSUID web pages into Bb• Connect PeopleSoft authentication to Bb• “Let’s Get Secure!”:

– Bring up Student Email search application & remove public student email search

– Promote replacement of SSNs with FSUIDs and FSUSNs within key student systems