Monday, October 9, 2017

Nota Bene: A Year in Technology…

This past year has brought tremendous changes in technology at Virginia Wesleyan University. Fundamental to our progress has been increasing student satisfaction by bringing greater access and efficiencies, including those made possible by self-help applications.

Our new Portal is the lynchpin technology in that effort, funded by a private gift for the Center for Online Learning. Soft-launched in June, the Portal serves as a single sign-on site for students, staff and faculty, providing secure access to academic and administrative systems. The Portal is based on Microsoft’s SharePoint, bringing unprecedented collaboration, digital services and data management opportunities to the University. Many departments have already developed excellent informational sites, and more are in the works. This coming year we will also see collaborative team sites allowing greater access to document, forms and much more.

Through the Portal’s administrative access, students are able to manage their finances from start to finish with two new services: Financial Aid Self Service and Touchnet’s Bill Payment Suite. With implementation completed over the summer, this technology has significantly changed our process for managing student financials for both students and staff.

Student housing is also now better managed through a new system called StarRez. This technology has had a tremendous impact on staffing resources, allowing for processing of housing assignments in minutes that previously took weeks. Students are now able to apply for housing, identify their own roommates, and request housing changes—all online. 

I am proud to share that
Scribner Bookstore is now online! Students have around-the-clock access to order textbooks, and coming mid-fall, VWU apparel and merchandise will be available for purchase online as well.

Leveraging this technology is essential as we prepare for future growth. Special thanks to our Office of Information Technology Services for making these valuable services available to our campus. Be on the lookout for additional announcements regarding the Portal coming soon from our Chief Information Officer Robert Leitgeb.