Ellingsburg University
Portal Conceptual Development Project
Clifford Kim
Janice Yip-Huang
Denise Gackenheimer
New York University
Ellingsburg University
Portal Conceptual Development Team
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Technology Director
Director of Residential Life
Office of Communications Representative
President of the Faculty Senate
Director of Library Services
Human Resources Representative
Enrollment Management Administrator
Student Representative
Technology Liaison
What is a Portal?
A website considered as an entry point to other
websites, often by being or providing access to a
search engine (The American Heritage Dictionary, 2002).
Why Portals?
With the introduction of Web portals, the Web is in the
process of reinventing itself once again. This change
may prove to be more far-reaching than any other
change to hit the Web, and it will change the way that
university and corporate Web pages are built, the
organizational structures used to build them, and the
fundamental way that people use the Web. (p. 33)
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Strauss, H. (2002). All about web portals: A home page doth not a portal make. In R. N. Katz (Ed.), Web
portals and higher education: Technologies to make IT personal (pp. 33-40). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Why Portals?
Once again, campuses are considering an opportunity
to move to a new level of effectiveness through the
application of technology…. Increasingly, portals are
understood to be an important layer in an overall
institutional information technology (IT) architecture—
a layer that provides a means to integrate information
and services consumed or created by the campus
community. (p. xi)
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Hawkins, B. L. & Morley, J. (2002). Foreword. In R. N. Katz (Ed.), Web portals and higher education:
Technologies to make IT personal (pp. xi-xiv). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Why Portals?
Portals provide an easy, quick place for people to get
relevant information. Because the portal is tailored for
each type of user, and each user can personalize it even
further, the user is not inundated with irrelevant and
useless information.
Our students, and increasingly our faculty and staff, are
technology savvy. They have no desire to wait on long
lines to get information or do research. A portal provides
access to information on the user’s schedule.
Why Portals?
Portals will give Ellingsburg University a way to
“consolidate crucial online services and information”
(Olsen, 2002, p. A32).
Students only need to log on to the portal once to gain
access to all their grades, schedules, campus events,
and tuition payment deadlines.
Ellingsburg University
Portal User Community
Admin
Staff
Faculty
Portal
Students
Alumni
Portal Channels
Our portal channels will encompass five key areas which represent the
broad components of our University community:
• Administrative (admissions, registration, financial aid, student accounts,
student records, and schedules)
• Communications (student to student, faculty and staff to student, faculty
and staff to faculty and staff, institution to student, and alumni to institution)
• Academic (academic advising, academic counseling, bookstore, library,
developmental education services, technical support, and tutoring)
• Personal Services (orientation, personal counseling, career counseling and
placement services, financial services, and wellness services)
• Communities (student segments, student activities, and faculty committees)
(Burnett & Oblinger, 2002)
Student Portal Channels
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Registrar (grades, class schedule)
Financial Aid (payment plan, scholarships)
Student Life (housing, meal plans, insurance, career services)
Library (research, references)
When using a portal, students typically expect to:
• Receive development, counseling and decision support guidance
• Augment educational pursuits through participation in extracurricular
activities
• Obtain basic services, including housing, meals and health care
• Access resources to support emotional well-being and cultural growth
• Find internships, co-op programs and full-time professional employment
(Burnett & Oblinger, 2002)
Admin/Staff Portal Channels
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Human Resources (benefits, compensation, training)
Administrative Systems (student system databases, time
collection)
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Professional Development Courses
Using portals allows administration and staff to perform
their jobs more efficiently as they can access information
quickly and easily. It can also lead to higher employee
satisfaction because they can access all their benefits in
one place and at times convenient to them.
Faculty Portal Channels
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Class Schedule
Class Roster
Library
Committees
Allows faculty to connect with students and university
personnel easily and quickly. Also allows them to
research whenever it is convenient for them, which may
lead to increased productivity.
Alumni Portal Channels
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Donations
Class Reunions
Alumni Association Benefits
Allows alumni to continue their lifelong connection with
Ellingsburg. This may lead to increased participation in
events and increased donations.
Benefits of Portals
Students benefit from:
• Web interface with courseware and required information about courses
• Increased and easier communications with faculty members
• On-line access to grades, financial aid information, class schedules, and
graduation checks
• Access to communities of interest within the university, such as sports, clubs,
and community service opportunities
• Increased lifelong learning opportunities
Faculty and staff members benefit from:
• Real-time communications with students
• Simplified course management tools
• Instant access to information for advising students
• Easily accessible information for every facet of their job
(p. 114)
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Daigle, S. L. & Cuocco, P. M. (2002). Portal technology opportunities, obstacles, and options: A view from the
California State University. In R. N. Katz (Ed.), Web portals and higher education: Technologies to
make IT personal (pp. 109-123). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Benefits of Portals
“The portal at SUNY-Buffalo has helped improve the
university’s ability to retain freshmen... One reason more
freshmen at Buffalo are staying is that they’re paying
their bills on time” (Olsen, 2002, p. A32).
University-Wide Portal Channels
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Web Mail
Academic Calendar
Campus Events
Campus Announcements
Campus News
Weather
Portal Communication
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“Integrate multiple campus resources via a single
gateway through custom channels, single sign-on
capabilities to existing campus systems, and lowerlevel data integration”
(Retrieved February 15, 2004 from University of Guelph Web site: http://portal.uoguelph.ca/academus.shtml).
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Built-In Authentication
Portal Communication
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Single Sign-On
 Allow users to log on to all applications at the same
time when signing-on to the portal
 “That sign-on should be designed so that an
individual can access whatever information he or
she is permitted to have, including access to vertical
portals. The sign-on should follow the user through
any campus vertical portals” (Daigle & Cuocco, 2002, p. 15).
Implementation Team
Generally, the team should consist of technical
experts, content experts, students and administrative
leadership. Group communication and document
sharing technology should be utilized to enhance
interaction (Harr, 2000).
Implementation Team
Our implementation team combines technical experts
and end line users to assist in creating a user-friendly,
yet sophisticated portal.
On the team, we included at least one member of the
target user group. We hope, therefore, to raise and
address the issues most important to all stakeholders.
Portal Organization
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Use of a single authentication system with a backend
authorization to more specific files for each type of
user groups. Therefore, users do not have to have
multiple sign-in pages (Ketchell, 2000).
Each user group will have set features available to
them. However, each individual may personalize and
customize their portal to meet their own needs, by
adding optional features and/or rearranging the pages
(Ketchell, 2000).
Feedback
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Host a forum to solicit opinions about the campus
portal
Provide an email address on the portal webpage and
encourage users to give feedback regarding
functionality, usability, and content
Content experts should be assigned to each major
portal component. Their work should include input and
feedback from representative groups, e.g., students, to
ensure the relevance and ease of use of the resources
being developed (Harr, 2000).
Sample Campus Portals
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Louisiana State University
http://paws.lsu.edu
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SUNY - University at Buffalo
http://www.buffalo.edu/aboutmyub
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Tufts University
http://inside.tufts.edu
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University of Minnesota
http://onestop.umn.edu
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UCLA
http://www.myucla.edu
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University of Washington
http://myuw.washington.edu
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Penn State University
https://portal.psu.edu/
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Texas Tech University
https://www.raiderlink.ttu.edu
References
The American heritage dictionary of the English language (4th ed.). (2000). Boston, MA: Houghton
Mifflin Company.
Burnett, D. J. & Oblinger, D. G. (Eds.). (2002). Innovation in student services: Planning for models
blending high touch/high tech. Ann Arbor, MI: Society for College and University Planning.
Daigle, S. L. & Cuocco, P. M. (2002). Portal technology opportunities, obstacles, and
options: A view from the California State University. In R. N. Katz (Ed.), Web portals and
higher education: Technologies to make IT personal (pp. 109-123). San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Harr, G. L. (2000). Connections: A comprehensive student portal. Concept paper and proposal.
Jacksonville, FL: Florida Community College at Jacksonville. (ERIC Document Reproduction
Service No. ED474411)
Hawkins, B. L. & Morley, J. (2002). Foreword. In R. N. Katz (Ed.), Web portals and higher education:
Technologies to make IT personal (pp. xi-xiv). San Francisco,CA: Jossey-Bass.
Ketchell, D. S. (2000). Too many channels: Making sense out of portals and personalization. Information
Technology and Libraries, 19(4) , (175-185).
Olsen, F. (2002, August 9). The power of portals. The Chronicle of Higher Education, p. A32.
Strauss, H. (2002). All about web portals: A home page doth not a portal make. In R. N. Katz (Ed.), Web
portals and higher education: Technologies to make IT personal (pp. 33-40). San Francisco,
CA: Jossey-Bass.
University of Guelph Web site: http://portal.uoguelph.ca/academus.shtml