Online portal to launch during spring break
Mary Petrides
Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: News
Over spring break, ActiveCampus Portal will replace the Up The Hill page students and faculty see when logging into on-campus computers, said Kevin Maurer, information systems manager for Information Technology Services.
The portal is the fifth Datatel, Inc., product ITS has purchased. WebAdvisor, purchased in 2004, was among the first.
Faculty and staff are already using the portal exclusively, and students may access the portal at https://my.hillsdale.edu. Maurer said he hopes students will begin using it before ITS removes Up The Hill.
"I'd much prefer you go on and say 'Hey, this thing's terrible' before we deliver it," he said, laughing.
The portal will require only one login - to an on-campus computer or to the portal from an off-campus computer - and from there, students will be able to check their e-mail, view announcements, pay bills, enter work hours, check the weather and use several other features without typing their password a second time, Maurer said.
All WebAdvisor links, including registration, unofficial transcripts and employee information will be available in a tab at the bottom of the page. The WebAdvisor page, instead of a list of links, will be an easy-to-navigate tabbed menu.
"It's just a better look," Maurer said. "It's the same content."
Rebekah Dell, director of student activities, has been working with ITS in deciding how to build the Web service.
"It's going to be a great tool for clubs and organizations," Dell said. "There's a lot of different possibilities there."
Dell said clubs will be able to post announcements, reducing the number of mass e-mails, and that students will be able to subscribe to announcements from certain clubs.
She said mass e-mails might become obsolete in three or four years.
Additionally, students will be able to share files through the portal, a feature that may replace the TA drive, Dell said.
"You can be at home in Wisconsin and still have access to these files," she said.
The portal is the fifth Datatel, Inc., product ITS has purchased. WebAdvisor, purchased in 2004, was among the first.
Faculty and staff are already using the portal exclusively, and students may access the portal at https://my.hillsdale.edu. Maurer said he hopes students will begin using it before ITS removes Up The Hill.
"I'd much prefer you go on and say 'Hey, this thing's terrible' before we deliver it," he said, laughing.
The portal will require only one login - to an on-campus computer or to the portal from an off-campus computer - and from there, students will be able to check their e-mail, view announcements, pay bills, enter work hours, check the weather and use several other features without typing their password a second time, Maurer said.
All WebAdvisor links, including registration, unofficial transcripts and employee information will be available in a tab at the bottom of the page. The WebAdvisor page, instead of a list of links, will be an easy-to-navigate tabbed menu.
"It's just a better look," Maurer said. "It's the same content."
Rebekah Dell, director of student activities, has been working with ITS in deciding how to build the Web service.
"It's going to be a great tool for clubs and organizations," Dell said. "There's a lot of different possibilities there."
Dell said clubs will be able to post announcements, reducing the number of mass e-mails, and that students will be able to subscribe to announcements from certain clubs.
She said mass e-mails might become obsolete in three or four years.
Additionally, students will be able to share files through the portal, a feature that may replace the TA drive, Dell said.
"You can be at home in Wisconsin and still have access to these files," she said.
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