UA News

Employees will be able to access Human Resources information, campus announcements, news feeds and more through a single sign-on portal.

Throughout the course of a day, employees at The University of Arizona are likely to visit several UA Web sites related to their work on campus. They might log on to Employee Link to view their current pay stub, or sign in to WebMail to check their University e-mail account, or visit the Human Resources Web site for information on professional development courses or career advising. 

As a growing number of campus services become available online, one project in development at the UA aims to make accessing information easier by providing a single sign-on service for students, faculty and staff.

The myCampus Portal Project will allow members of the UA community to access academic, business and social information in one place. The ultimate goal is that users will be able to customize their "UAccess" page to display, according to their liking, the services they use most, from online administrative systems to course registration to outside applications like Facebook and external news feeds, said Michele Norin, the UA's chief information officer. The portal also will allow for the delivery of targeted alerts, such as campus announcements or emergency communications.

"I’ve recently learned of the myCampus Portal Project, and it sounds like a great way for UA employees to have easy and personalized access to the UA Web services they use most," said Holly Altman, chairwoman of the University's Appointed Professionals Advisory Council.

The system, which likely will be accessed using a NetID and password, would, in part, replace Student Link and Employee Link online services currently in place, Norin said.

"We want to provide, particularly for employees, a way to have a one-stop shop for their Web-based activities related to the University," Norin said. "Being able to have all your services in one place improves efficiency."

The portal project is made possible by a $1 million in-kind grant from the CampusEAI Consortium, the creator of myCampus Portal, which is utilized by K-12 and higher education campuses nationwide. The grant provides development and support products and services for the next five years.

According to the CampusEAI Web site, the portal allows students, faculty, administrators and alumni to "manage academic and social information, use course tools and community message boards, and even register for classes" in a campus-specific Web community. 

Feedback from University employees and other campus community members will be sought in shaping the UA's portal design, Norin said. A portal steering committee will be formed this fall to represent the diverse audiences who have a stake in the design and content of the portal. The steering committee will be complemented by a representative campus technical group responsible for technical work and ongoing maintenance of the portal, Norin said.

In October, a portal landing page that provides access to Mosaic resources, such as the UAccess Employee (Human Resources system) and UAccess Analytics for business intelligence reporting, is expected to be available to campus employees, with varying levels of access depending on employee needs.