Unlocking the door: The
new Ellingsburg University
Web Portal
Seattle University
Kristen Campbell, Julie Larsen, &
Nancy Padgett
Need For a Portal
► Central
location to be direct link to
resources from different locations
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Financial Aid
Registration
E-mail
Campus Activities
Admissions
Academics
Need, cont.
Technology use is increasing world wide
► Stay competitive with other schools using
portals
► Easy student and faculty accessibility to
campus resources
► Increases outside awareness of university
and outside accessibility to campus
information
►
Planning Team
► Representatives
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from multiple aspects of campus
Representative group of students
Alumni
Faculty
Staff
Technology
Student Services
►
Greek Life, Student Activities, Housing and Residence Life
 Representatives from administrative offices
►
Financial Aid, Admissions, Registrar, Business Office
Implementation Team
► Technology
 Web designer
 Portal Designer
 Multimedia Services
► Dean
of Students
► Admissions
Each member of implementation team will be
able to promote the new portal to differing
populations.
Feedback
► Necessary
to collect feedback because…
 Hear all voices
 To make sure portal is easy to use
 To identify any instruction and training users will need
to receive
► Ways
of gathering feedback
 Test Run
 Online survey
 Contact links on each page for departments and portal
administrators
Test Run
► On
site testing
 Place Information Technology staff in a central
student location
 Allow students to navigate portal
 Ask for feedback during and after use
► One
month restricted use pilot program
 Random stratified student sample
 Online evaluation on portal use
Test Run, cont.
► On-line
survey
► Provide
contact information
 One semester after portal is
launched administer a
campus wide survey to
address needs and concerns
 Give link to a specific person
or office in charge of portal
page
 Students can submit
selective feedback as needed
» POLL
What is your overall rating of MySU?
•1 (Dislike)
•2
•3 (Neutral)
•4
•5 (Love it!)
poll taken from:
http://mysu.seattleu.edu
Channels to be Represented
► Faculty
and Staff
► Prospective Students
► Current Students
► Alumni
► Parents
► Guests
Communication Within the Portal
► Single
sign method is preferred
 Increased student use with quick and easy
access to campus resources
► One
stop for multiple resources
 Each department/office will need access to
portal updates, shared information, and editing
privileges
Organization
► Registration
– class schedules, grades, course
descriptions, registration deadlines and dates
► Financial aid – downloadable documents, access to
billing statement, award letters, payment plans,
fees
► Email
► Faculty, student, and office directories
► Admission – application, deadlines, open house
information, campus maps, visit information
Organization, cont.
► Campus
calendar – student activities, club
meetings, holidays, food service hours and menus,
athletic events, arts & entertainment
► Residence Life – online housing contracts, room
lottery information, theme housing information, off
campus options, RA resources
► Library – catalogs, databases, reserve materials,
links to outside holdings
► Academics – departments, majors/minors, course
assignments, professor information and office
hours
Organization, cont.
► Home
page will contain information
pertinent for all users and specific menus
for each community
► Specific menus will provide tailored options
► Search function within each menu will allow
access to entire portal
Sample Models
►Tabs
allow:
►Specific groups to quickly access
individualized information
►Easy direction to menus
►Clear organization
taken from: http://cob.sfsu.edu/COB/portal_student/index.cfm
Sample Models, cont.
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It is important to have a graphic identity to create
continuity appearance of all pages within the portal
Some graphic identities allow for easy visual connection
back to the university identity
Other graphic identities become a recognizable symbol
around campus for the portal
taken from: http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/students.htm and https://buzzport.gatech.edu/cp/home/displaylogin
Best Practices
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The Seattle University student portal shows best practices
with: simple graphics, implied student ownership, ease of
use, and aesthetically pleasing display.
taken from: http://mysu.seattleu.edu
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Works Cited
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Georgia Institute of Technology (2004). Buzzport. Retrieved February 25, 2005, from
https://buzzport.gatech.edu/cp/home/displaylogin
Pheonix College (2005). Retrieved February 25, 2005, from
http://www.pc.maricopa.edu/students.htm
San Francisco State University (2005). Student Portal. Retrieved February 25, 2005 from
http://cob.sfsu.edu/COB/portal_student/index.cfm
Seattle University (2004). mysu. Retrieved February 25, 2005, from http://mysu.seattleu.edu
Resources
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Burke, J. (2001) Educational web portals: Guidelines for selection and use (Report No. IR021868). Atlanta, United States: Southern Regional Education Board (ERIC Document
Reproduction Service No. ED 475 677)
Harr, G.L. (2002) Connections: A comprehensive student portal (Report No. IR – 021970).
Florida Community College (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 474 411)