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The Power of the Portal:Developing the Campus Community
While Enhancing Self-Sufficiency
Sarah CourtneyKathryn Jennings
Julie Skolds
University of Maine
StudentAffairs.com – Virtual Case Study 2005
What Is a Portal?
“ …an entrance or doorway…You could think of a portal as a starting place for people to begin their cyberjourney” (Dominick, Sherman, & Messere, 2000, p. 132).
“…a personalized collection of information, content, and services” (Pickett & Hamre, 2002, p. 37).
“…an online service that provides a personalized, single point of access (single sign-on) to resources that support the end-user in one or more tasks (resource discovery, learning, research, etc.) The resources made available via a portal are typically brought together form more than one source” (http://www.usask.ca/web_project/uwebd/portals_faq.html, retrieved on February 16, 2005).
Vertical Enterprise Portals
For the purpose of a higher education institution, a vertical portal should be used. They are designed to support:
Specific functions Processes ApplicationsAll must be tailored to the
individual user.(Collins, 2003,
p.34)
Contains: My Front Page Channels Navigation links Advanced search
capabilities Directories Graphics Alerts“A VEP is a portal that
delivers organization-specific information in a user-centric way”
(Strauss, 2002, p.36 + 38).
The Impact on Student Affairs:
“We can use technology to communicate with students, ‘customize’ our interactions with them without being restricted by time or place.”
“Technology can enable us to make students more knowledgeable about the many resources available to them, and provide needed information when they encounter a problem.”
“We can use technology to make our service, programs, and facilities more efficient and user-friendly.”
(Upcraft & Goldsmith, 2000, pp.224)
Why a Customized Portal?
Will offer advanced search technology that enables the student to have immediate and easy access to information pertinent to their college experience
Enables more efficient use of an individual’s time
Allows customization to meet each individual’s needs
Create and reinforce university communities, enhancing the experience of the individual, resulting in stronger ties to the campus community
(Katz, 2002)
To enhance the university’s image
Maintain alumni network
Improve administration efficiency
Integrate and streamline information and services
(Pearce, 2003, p. 63)
Why a Customized Portal? (Cont.)
“Compelling reasons to develop a portal are that an increasingly internet-savvy student body expects it, and the horse is already out of the barn” (Daigle & Cuocco, 2002, p.112).
“Portals provide views of the institution that reflects an individual relationship at various stages of his or her life” (Daigle & Cuocco, 2002, p.113).
Portals at Smaller Institutions:
Need to be smaller than those at large schools The community is smaller and so the portal should be smaller
Foster a more personal learning environment Small schools already have the luxury of small class rooms,
the ability to group work, and time and attention from faculty. Portals can only increase this personalized education, by allowing students to interact with classmates and teachers outside classroom, through postings, updates, and interactive chats
Empowers students to do things for themselves making them active participants in their college career
Increase attendance at events, including sporting events, by creating a buzz and getting students to discuss upcoming events over the computer
Planning and Implementation Teams: Member Recommendations
Current Members Director of Residence
Life Representative from
Office of Communications
President of Faculty Senate
New Members A female and a male
student Representative from
the Office of Research, Assessment, and Planning
Classified Staff Member
Representative from Alumni Relations
Dean of Students
Phase One: Ellingsburg University Goals for Intranet Portal
Improve access to college information through a self-service user friendly, personalized environment
Aid in the development of a personalized niche for each student, by facilitating easier access to information, events, and others with the same interests
Promote constant communication, data sharing, and support between university departments and faculty
Create a continuous and inclusive connection among alumni and the university
Recommended Channels
EU Headlines
Local/National/World Headlines
My Playlist
My Links
Dinning Service
My Student Organizations
EU Library
Google SearchEU Search
Personal Calendar
Directories
Student Records
Class Schedule
EU Sports
Account Balance
Today’s Menu
BreakfastLunchDinner
HoursAsk a Librarian
Circulation RecordLibrary SearchAcademic Calendar
Today at EUDates to Know
RegistrationTuition Statement
GradesDARS
Financial Aid StatusChange of Address
TitleInstructor
E-ReservesDisplay Textbooks
Buy Textbooks
Faculty/Staff/Dept./Students
Student Employment
ListingsPayroll
ME: My Ellingsburg
Channels Chosen Because:
Accurate representation of what the students will need and want to have the option of having on their personalized web page
Want the functions to fit the institution and give the university community easy access to important information through self-service
Encourage community building by allowing community members to personalize content, therefore taking ownership of their identity and level of commitment to the university
Keep Ellingsburg University building at a competitive pace with larger and more elite institutions
Gathering Feedback:
Design a web based survey using Survey Monkey to get an idea of what is wanted in the portal
Administer survey through campus e-mail incentive
Anonymous suggestion box in dining hall and student union
Focus Groups when a mock up of proposed portal is finished to get feedback on further changes; dinner will be provided to those who attend:
Student focus groups will be run by the students on the committee
Faculty focus groups will be run by the faculty senate member on the committee
Staff focus groups run by staff member
Technology Based Systems Ellingsburg Should Use:
Single-sign on portal system
WebCT for courseware development and delivery
First Class Higher Education for student web access, messaging and calendar services
Oracle Portal for Intranet development
Oracle Database and Applications for electronic forms and workflow
Security Issues “Colleges and universities must strive to achieve what technologists
refer to reverentially as ‘single sign-on’.”
“These systems need to be secure and to handily recognize an individuals authorizations, based on roles and other personal attributes.”
“In essence, the information system must be able to know “up front” that John Doe is really John Doe and that Dr. Doe is a tenured faculty member.”
(Katz, 2002, p.11).
Portals are doorways to a wealth of information, therefore they are susceptible to the threat of hackers.
When different application systems (FirstClass, Oracle, and WebCT) are integrated, the task is to remember to also integrate security amongst the programs in order to protect the entire portal.
(Sullivan, 2004, p.56+168)
ME My Ellingsburg
ME Log In:
Enter Id:
Enter Password:
Register if this is your first time to the online community.
For help with ME, call IT Help Desk at 555-5555 or e-mail [email protected]
Help | EU Homepage | Log Out
Personalize Content
ME
Add Drop Registration Financial Aid
WWW
Hello, Student
Friday, February 18, 2005
My Ellingsburg
Weather Powered by the Weather Channel
EU Headlines
EU Sports
My Playlist
My Links
Local/National/World
Headlines
Daily University Update
First Class
Academic Calendar
Today at EU
Dates to Know
Account Balance As Of
Moose Card 1204.67 02/20/05
The Moose Menu
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
EU LIVE WEB CAM:My Activities:
Library:
www.Ellingsburg.edu
Search
CRN Course # Title Days Times Location Instructor
1012 101 Intro. to Biology
M, W, F 10:10 – 11:00
BLD Susan Peabody
E- Reserves Link to Buy Textbooks
My Class Schedule:
Circulation Record
Library search
Library Information
Ask a Librarian?
Student Records: Registration
Tuition Statement
Change of Address
Grades
DARS
Financial Aid
Directories: Faculty / Staff Departments
Students
Student Health Services:
Insurance
Relay Health
Office Information
Student Employment:
Job Opportunities Payroll
Student Employment:
Help | EU Homepage | Log Out
Personalize Content
ME
Add Drop Registration Financial Aid
WWW
Hello, Student
Friday, February 18, 2005
My Ellingsburg
Weather Powered by the Weather Channel
EU Headlines
EU Sports
My Playlist
My Links
Local/National/World
Headlines
Daily University Update
First Class
Academic Calendar
Today at EU
Dates to Know
Account Balance As Of
Moose Card 1204.67 02/20/05
The Moose Menu
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
EU LIVE WEB CAM:My Activities:
Library:
www.Ellingsburg.edu
Search
CRN Course # Title Days Times Location Instructor
1012 101 Intro. to Biology
M, W, F 10:10 – 11:00
BLD Susan Peabody
E- Reserves Link to Buy Textbooks
My Class Schedule:
Circulation Record
Library search
Library Information
Ask a Librarian?
Student Records: Registration
Tuition Statement
Change of Address
Grades
DARS
Financial Aid
Directories: Faculty / Staff Departments
Students
Student Health Services:
Insurance
Relay Health
Office Information
• Student’s name• Local Weather
• EU Newspaper headlines•Sports Scores• Personalized Playlist linked to ITunes• Favorite Bookmarked websites• Headlines from their favorite news sites• University Notices• Link to First Class
• Show daily menus
• Link to academic calendar• The days campus events• Important dates to remember such as those shown
• Interactive calendar linked to First Class
• Real Time Update of money left on University Card
• All links to important documents
• Links to organizations student is involved with
• Real time update of books borrowed by students with due dates• Library search capability from students page
• On screen library hours and notifications• Link E-mail librarian with questions
• Search engines for directories available on page
• Live web cam updating pictures from campus regularly
• Link to syllabus
• Link to instructors web page
• Link to articles on syllabus
• Link to Bookstore to buy textbooks
• List the insurance student has• Log in to Relay Health service• Office hours and notifications
Job Opportunities Payroll
• Listing of job opportunities on their front page and show payroll dates, and pay stubs
Phase Two: Faculty, Staff, Alumni Portals
The committee proposes beginning the project with the student portal, but in order to complete the goals stated earlier encourages the creation of faculty, staff, and alumni portals to soon follow.
Recommended Channels Faculty/Staff
EU Headlines
Local/National/World Headlines
My Links
Dinning Service
Human Resources
EU Library
Google SearchEU Search
Personal Calendar
Directories
Employee Records
Class Schedule
Messages from Various
University Offices
Today’s Menu
BreakfastLunchDinner
HoursAsk a Librarian
Circulation RecordLibrary SearchAcademic Calendar
Today at EUDates to Know
Change of Address Pay StubsTax Forms
Insurance PlansRetirement Plans
TitleStudent Rosters with contact
information and direct e-mail link
E-Reserves
Order Textbooks
Faculty/Staff/Dept./Students
Benefit FormsCompensation Forms
Tuition ExemptionFamily Services
Employment Opportunities
TrainingHR News and Events
Office of the President
Office of the Provost Student Employment
ListingsPayroll Information
MEME: My Ellingsburg
Recommended Channels Alumni
EU Headlines
Department received degree in
EU Library
Google SearchEU Search
EU Bookstore
Directories
Career Services
Medical Center
EU Sports
HoursAsk a Librarian
Circulation RecordLibrary Search
Transcript Order Forms
Order medical file
Faculty/Staff/Dept.
EventsServices
Volunteer Opportunities
Alumni news
Order Merchandise
MEME: My Ellingsburg
Best Practices:
Presentation: Usable Format
Interactive Layouts
Consistent Look and Feel
Framework: Effective On-line and Off-line Tools,
While Encouraging Action Based on Each Person’s Role
Platforms and Programs that Evolve with the Needs of the Institution
(Duffner, 2001, p. 2)
Personalization: Raises Efficiency and Comfort
Level
Creates personalized community
Integration: Use of Various Databases
Lowers Operating Costs
(Duffner, 2001, p. 2)
My UW: An Exemplar Educational Portal
The following slide is the front page to the MyUW student portal at the University of Washington. After reviewing several portal cites from institutions of higher education, we found that MyUW’s cite was the one we consistently returned to. We liked its organization, channel content, and aesthetic look. It was not too crowded and not too bare. Even though UW is a large university, we found that we were able to utilize their cite for inspiration for our small liberal arts school.
Portals at Smaller Institutions Challenges:
In order for a portal to serve the community as intended, universities need to make investments and changes in: Information Technology Institutional policies
Portals complicate who has access to what info and why, which may lead to questions as to who is a member of the community. Policies will need to be created to address outside advertising.
(Katz, 2002, p.12)
Portals at Smaller Institutions Challenges (Cont.):
How will student information be used to populate alumni profiles?
(Katz, 2002,p.12)
Difficulty getting everyone on campus to accept a campus-wide technology initiative
(Grant & Anderson, 2002, p. 23-32)
Universities must make extra efforts to ensure that the portal stresses community building to help build and not break down loyalty
(Katz, 2002,p.12)
Technology on campus also brings its own set of legal concerns, computers create: New privacy concerns Potential copyright disputes Free speech concerns
(Kaplin & Lee, 1995, p.9)
Portals at Smaller Institutions Challenges (Cont.):
“Small campuses may not have the staff to provide sophisticated applications and a dynamic web presence” (Barratt, 2003, p.381).
“Automation, paperless transactions, and one-stop self-service shifts greater responsibility and participation in administrative services to the customer, and this changes the need for labor as well as the division of labor within the organization” (Kvavik, 2002, p.66).
Staff, Faculty, and Administration Small schools tend to have more staff, faculty, and administration
who wear multiple hats. Attention to updates to the portal and requests from the portal may tax an already overwhelmed staff. Staff, faculty, and administration charged with these tasks will need good training and a large and supportive IT department.
ME:
The committee concludes that Ellingsburg University will benefit greatly from the implementation of a portal that is sized to the institution, configured to the needs of the university’s population, and fosters the Ellingsburg commitment to community. This project will bring Ellingsburg up-to-date with the technological advances in higher education, assist in the retention of students, and create a more knowledgeable and collaborative community.
References:Barratt, W. (2003). Information technology in student affairs. In S.R. Komives, Woodard, D. Jr. &
Associates (Eds.), Student services: A handbook for the profession (pp. 379-396). San Francisco: Jossey Bass.
Collins, H. (2003). Enterprise knowledge portals. New York: AMACOM.Daigle, S.L. & Cuocco, P.M. (2002). Portal technology opportunities, obstacles, and options: A view
from the California State University. In R. Katz (Ed.), Web portals & higher education (pp.109-123). San Franscico: Jossey Bass.
Dominick, J.R., Sherman, B.L. & Messere, F. (Eds.). (2000). Broadcasting, cable, the internet, and beyond: An introduction to modern electronic media. Boston: McGraw Hill.
Duffner, R. (2001). Portals unlock the knowledge that drives business value. Retrieved February 20, 2005. http://www.kmworld.com/publications/whitepapers/portals/duffner.htm.
Grant, G.B. & Anderson, G. (2002). Customer relationship management: A vision for higher education. In R. Katz (Ed.), Web portals & higher education (pp.23-32). San Franscico: Jossey Bass.
Kaplin, W. A. & Lee, B.L. (1995). The law of higher education. San Franscico: Jossey Bass.Katz, R. N. (2002). Web portals & higher education. San Franscico: Jossey Bass.Kavavik, R. B. (2002). E-business in higher education. In R. Katz (Ed.), Web portals & higher
education (pp.41-67). San Franscico: Jossey Bass.Pickett, R. & Hamre, W. (2002). Building portals for higher education. New directions for institutional
research. (113), 37-55.Pearce, L. (2003). Institutional portals: A review of outputs. The new review of education and library
research 2003, 61-84.Strauss, H. (2002). All about web portals: A home page does not a portal make. In R. Katz (Ed.), Web
portals & higher education (pp.33-40). San Franscico: Jossey Bass.Sullivan, D. (2004). Proven portals: Best practices for planning, designing, and developing enterprise
portals. Boston: Addison-Wesley.Upcraft, M.L. & Goldsmith, H. (2000). Technological changed in student affairs administration. In
Barr, M.J. & Desler, M. & Associates (Eds.), The handbook of student affairs administration (pp. 216-228). San Franscico: Jossey Bass.
UWEBD. What is portal? Retrieved on February 16, 2005. http://www.usask.ca/web_project/uwebd/portals_faq.html