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 ithelpdesk@ellingsburg.edu

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