New university communication system in development

New system will combine information from a wide range of sources

The Ad-Hoc Committee on University Communication has released a report detailing plans for a new universal communication system at the University.

The new system will be a hub where students can find information about campus events, University departments, class information, official University announcements, and more.

Joe Sevits, senior in science, technology, and society, is a co-chair for the committee. Sevits says there has been a demand on behalf of the student body for an easier way to become informed of what is happening on campus.

“[The system] will help student leaders and University units promote opportunities and students find those opportunities,” said Sevits.

According to Sevits, students will benefit by having a central location to find information from all groups at the University.

The key feature of the system will be a central calendaring system, which will pull event information from several sources. The system will be tailored to each student’s individual interests.

Vista, Moodle, and Webassign assignment announcements will all be compiled with information from popular networking sites such as Facebook, Orgsync, and Google calendar. Departmental calendars, official University announcements and personal events will also be included.

Other class information such as syllabi, schedules, and links to class websites will be available.

Students will also be able to subscribe to specific event and announcement updates, with options to receive information from a particular club, or from a specific genre, such as community service.

The committee was established by Jay Dawkins, junior in civil engineering and Student Body President, as a way to improve information flow among students, campus organizations, and the University.

“There hasn’t been a central source of information for what’s going on on campus,” said Dawkins.

According to Dawkins, the HOWL e-mail announcements were started as a way to help students become more informed.

“The HOWL fulfilled a little bit of that need, but there is so much more information out there,” said Dawkins.

Kat Wright, junior in psychology, is excited about the resources that the new system would offer. “As [resident advisors,] we’re expected to tell students about the broad spectrum of social and academic opportunities on campus,” said Wright. “But we’re only human, and we can’t be expected to tell our residents about everything that is going on.”

Wright says that it can be difficult to find out about events of interest unless students actively search for them.

“For example, there’s so much that Arts N.C. State has to offer, but people don’t know about it,” Wright said. “NC State should play a more active role in telling people about such events.”

Student opinion will play an important role in the development of the system.

“There will need to be focus groups set up throughout the process to gather student input on individual components,” said Sevits.

Students will work alongside the Office of Information and Technology (OIT), which will be in charge of developing and maintaining the new system.

Dawkins foresees a challenge ahead in order to produce a functional website.

“The biggest obstacle with technology is having to figure out the programming when you’re charting your own course,” said Dawkins.

However, he stressed the importance of timeliness.

“The longer we wait, the more students are in the dark, and the more opportunities are missed.”

http://technicianonline.com/news/new_university_communication_system_in_development-1.1482913