Portal Project Evaluation Report Executive Summary - University of ...

· Difficulties in finding the information that was needed
· Email client poor compared to alternatives(staff)
· Lack of a staff Portal
· Difficulties accessing the Portal off­campus
· Help material
· Portal downtime.
Main follow up actions
A number of the technical issues identified by users in the survey had been picked up
as they occurred and dealt with. The “ATHENS” issue around single sign on for
electronic journals and databases was complex one involving individual publishers in
some cases and took some time to fully resolve. The current Student elements of the
Portal for 2007/08 contains many of the improvements based on the feedback
including:
· Improved help material including a range of multi­media self help material
· Improved student training for first year students within the induction
framework
· Clearer sign posting of portal content
· Improved content
· Self service facility for users to modify how the user’s name is shown, portal
time­out etc.
The launch of the Staff Portal in October 2007 is increasing the exposure and
engagement of staff with the Portal, which should improve some elements of student
assistance, as the survey indicated that for many students the first point of contact for
assistance was their lecturer.
A communication project has been set up to improve and refine the ability to send
targeted announcements to groups of students and/or staff, and the Information
Strategy group has been asked to assist in the development of communication
policies and protocols to support this.
A major email project has been established to deliver a single all staff email system
integrated into the portal with associated diary management functionality and other
facilities.
Conclusion
Overall the first phase of the portal project has met the main objectives. Recent
evidence from the National Student Survey has reinforced the findings of both this
study and other feedback. The indications are that the portal has established its’
importance relatively quickly as the gateway through which students access key
aspects of the systems and information provided by the university.
The introduction of the portal has highlighted several pre­existing systems and
business process issues such as the management of user accounts, multiple email
systems and the appropriate use of communication tools. Significant work is now
underway involving a wide range of stakeholders to resolve these.
Clifton Kandler
Web Services Manager
Information & Library Services: Corporate Information Systems
Greenwich Gateway Phase One Evaluation Report Executive Summary Version
7 th November
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