Prototype portal page designs for each site

This summer the portal environment will be rolled out to a beta-testing group -- a small group of users from various District constituencies. This is a first step toward rolling this functionality out to all District technology users within the next academic year.

"We actually will be implementing three portals -- one for each campus and one for Central Services," explains Information Systems Supervisor Joe Lampo. "The portals will be personalized depending on who accesses them. For example, a business services staff member at Central Services will see a different display than a faculty member at one of the colleges."

Lampo says that once the portal project is complete and rolled out throughout the District, it will create a log-in experience comparable to a "morning cup of coffee" for users each morning. After signing onto the webpage, the site will offer the user a greeting and display items of interest-such as new email, an events calendar and news headlines.

If the user is a faculty member, the site may also display a schedule of classes or an update on a specific research project. Classified staff will have their own personalized items as well, and also be able to fill out timesheets online and access purchase requisitions and other online forms.

One key attribute of the portal environment is high security. Users will be authenticated before they can access the personalized information on the portal pages. For example, the system will be secure so that faculty can review and alter grades, but students will not be able to access this function.

Vice Chancellor Willie Pritchard presented a prototype to the Board of Trustees, and ETS staff are meeting with various District constituencies to ensure that the portals meet users' needs.

The portal environment also includes a survey tool that will grow increasingly important as the portals are rolled out to more users throughout the District. This survey works within a portlet, or a small program that can be customized to ask questions of users.

"It's important that people have a mechanism to provide feedback so that we can continue to make improvements," Lampo says.