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.
