|
Faculty, staff and students will soon have a simplified way to access e-mail, news and tools via uSource—a convenient, central online "home," or portal.
The portal is part of Project Nova, an ongoing, campus-wide initiative to replace the university's technologically dated and stand-alone information technology systems with state-of-the-art infrastructure.
More than 200 staff, faculty and students across campus (and some off campus) will volunteer to test uSource for a few weeks in early February.
At the end of February, Phase I of uSource will be launched for the entire UVic community.
Among the features available in Phase I: access to existing e-mail addresses (no addresses will change); campus-wide announcements and "personal" announcements to individualized work or study groups; news about campus life; events at UVic; human resources information and postings; library searches and account management; student registration and records information; a single point of access to online forms from various departments and faculties; and a feature photo channel.
The finance module will be partially phased-in during March and will feature upgrades of current applications used by UVic's finance department. The first phase of this enhanced technology will allow staff to access online help, to view data by date range, and to use improved filter and query capabilities.
In future finance module roll-outs, uSource users will be able to fill out online forms, such as those used for purchasing requisitions, and then track approval online.
Project Nova will be implemented in a succession of releases during the next few years. Eventually, students will be able to track their individual grade averages and financial information, staff will work more collaboratively to solve problems, and faculty will have improved tools to communicate with students via group communication.
The project will not drastically change the way we work. Rather, it will offer improved communication and an easier, more efficient way for users to perform daily tasks and to implement long-term strategies that reflect the overall vision for the university.
|
