"MyUCDavis"
A New Window on the Aggie World

By Donna Justice

 
For faculty and students, the workday is governed by course schedules and the constant quest for information. We maneuver through a maze of commitments with the aid of many "tools": planners, scheduling software, Web sites, email, and administrative computing systems, like Banner and DaFIS.

Wouldn't it be great to have just one place where we could manage all of our UC Davis-related business, communications, and coursework? Well, the wait is almost over. By this fall, UC Davis faculty and students will have their own, custom-made Web portal called MyUCDavis. Plans to create a portal for staff are also on the drawing board.

MyUCDavis (formerly known as Project Gateway) will integrate existing UC Davis online applications together with new services into one convenient Web portal, a site that functions like a doorway to many other sites and that each visitor can personalize to reflect his or her interests and needs (see "Web Portals Explained").

For example, from My UCDavis, a student may be able to look up grades and financial aid status, check email, and view course information online. "This is a great idea," says Sumiko Kanzaki, senior in Communications and Rhetoric. "I am constantly trying to remember all of the different URLs of interest to me--while registering for classes, while checking my transcripts, while figuring out deadlines. This site brings all of those relevant sites to my fingertips."

From the UC Davis faculty portal, an instructor may be able to build a simple course Web site, report grades, check email, read the latest news, and post messages. In addition to the standard features for students and faculty, each page can be customized with additional links and features.

"This tool provides easy navigation to UC Davis services," says Joyce Johnstone, Project Manager, IT-Information Resources. For students, the site is designed to reduce the confusion and stress related to traversing the college landscape. "Students will be able to customize their pages to reach the information they need at UC Davis," says Johnstone.

For faculty, MyUCDavis will offer not only convenience and ease of use, but also a flexible tool designed to accommodate course management tasks well into the future, even as new software and systems come online. "Many faculty have built their own Web sites and engage students through email," says Johnstone. "But with a MyUCDavis page, they will be able to manage all of this information from one place and link their students to all of it."

One other campus in the UC system--UCLA--provides a similar service. Beyond what it can do for the individual, a customized portal site such as MyUCDavis can help the campus reach out to prospective students and can be the impetus for building a new kind of "community." MyUCDavis also has the potential to be a real competitive plus for our campus. For instance, it could help market the campus to prospective students and further illustrate UC Davis' commitment to its students and faculty.

 
Next Steps
MyUCDavis is one of the campus' key Instructional Technology Fund Projects (see "More Options for Mobile Computer Users" in this issue) planned for completion in Fall 2000. Project team members include: Sandra Stewart, project director; Brian Alexander, Web designer; and Safa Hussain, Web developer. The project is sponsored by Pat Turner, Vice-Provost-Undergraduate Studies; Robert Franks, Associate Vice Chancellor-Student Affairs; and Jack Farrell, Registrar.

Though much work has been done, the project is still in the design phase. The design committee, made up of students and faculty, along with the project team, will continue to explore possible features through the end of March. By May, the team will begin construction and testing of each site. For a formal description of the My UCDavis project and a peek at the prototype, go to http://sysdev.ucdavis.edu/myucdavis/. To send feedback and suggestions to the MyUCDavis project team, click on "send comments on this prototype" located on the MyUCDavis home page.