New myU. portal offers advanced services

Verm cats, a sleeker design, responsive access and a customizable experience are what the new myU. portal is offering students and faculty.

Tena Haraldson, director of Marketing Communications and University Relations, said the portal is built on software that is several years old.

“The idea of the portal is to be a convenience for students and faculty,” Haraldson said. “Students are big users of the portal now, and it is important for them to be able to find things quickly.”

[notification type=”grey” title=”New Portal for USD”]What: A new software update is allowing a redesign of the portal that will contain new features and changes including easier access and a customizable portal

When: The portal will go live in June

Why: To increase usability and usefulness of the website
source: Marketing Communications and University Relations[/notification]

While most students won’t make use of the update until August when they return to school, Haraldson said the new site is set to go live in June.

With the slogan “Same cats. New portal,” Haraldson said USD was trying to take a light-hearted approach while connecting the new portal with something everyone can recognize.

“The Verm cats are our attempt to introduce the new concept,” she said. “When the new email system was released, people forgot about it by fall so we wanted to do an internal promotion to bring it to the attention of students.”

Aside from the relatable tagline, the new portal offers easier navigation, improved content, customization options and a simple design.

“Navigation will be simplified and the content that is there will be specific to the uses of the user,” Haraldson said. “Also with the new software, we will be able to use a simple design with a white background accented with red.

Sophomore Lauryn Eggen said she has mixed feelings when it’s come her use of the current portal.

“It’s easy when you know what you’re looking for, but it’s really frustrating to try and find things like faculty phone numbers or other things that you need to search for,” she said.

Eggen is anticipating the easier access and customization of the new portal.

“It will be much easier to access the things that each individual person uses on a regular basis,” she said. “It would be awesome to have the things I use the most front and center and since I’ll be starting nursing school I’ll have the things I need for those classes right there instead of having to try and find them.”

Haraldson said she expects the portal to be ongoing process.

“It’s never really finished, but our primary concern is usability and usefulness,” she said. “We hope students realize when they first go to it, it is going to look different but it will still be useful to them and it will be where all their work happens.”