The web portal myPSU is getting an overhaul. The site, my.pdx.edu, will have a new look and be more accessible to users starting today at 5 a.m. “We are really hoping it is beneficial and of use to students and faculty,” said PSU Director of Web Communications Kristin Boden-MacKay.
myPSU portal gets new look
The web portal myPSU is getting an overhaul.
The site, my.pdx.edu, will have a new look and be more accessible to users starting today at 5 a.m.
“We are really hoping it is beneficial and of use to students and faculty,” said PSU Director of Web Communications Kristin Boden-MacKay.
The web address will remain my.pdx.edu, but expect to see a simpler format with larger fonts and easier-to-access links. The simplification of the format is intended to make using the site’s resources easier as well as making it more accessible to handheld devices, Boden-MacKay said.
The general style of the new site is consistent with the previous format. However, the site’s appearance is not the only change, she said.
Because of outdated technology, myPSU is being transferred to the web-based interface Banweb, the current student information system.
The system allows students to register for classes, look up grades and pay bills, among other functions. Faculty uses the system to administer courses, enter time sheets and track benefits.
“There has always been a web interface called Banweb,” Boden-MacKay said. The myPSU portal software was in need of an upgrade after five years.
“It was either make a huge investment in a program upgrade or move to a web-based platform,” Boden-MacKay said.
The upgrade would have cost millions, while the transfer to a web-based platform was free other than personnel cost, she explained. A team of members from PSU’s Office of Information Technology and Office of University Communications were in charge of making the technological shift.
All the changes aim to make using PSU’s online resources less complicated and more user-friendly. But this is only the beginning of the changes to come to PSU’s online student information system.
“This is the initial roll out for the site and we will be able to add specific changes to further increase functionality for students,” Boden-MacKay said.
Other new features will include a screen on the home page indicating important dates for students, such as the last day to withdraw from classes.
Another plan is to simplify the login process to allow a user to log in once and remain logged in to all connecting sites such as D2L and email.
If by “beneficial and of use,” Boden-MacKay means “user-hostile and unnavigable,” this change was a great success.