|
USFconnect, the new intranet portal linking the university’s Web-based services, has already made employee benefits information and group scheduling more accessible and efficient. Soon, it will supersede email as the main source of university information, according to a plan by the USFconnect coordination team in academic services.
“We want to minimize community-wide email and try instead to leverage the (USFconnect) Web site,” said Tracy Schroeder, Web and data coordinator.
Approximately 3,500 people have logged in to USFconnect since its debut in August and about 140 people on average log in daily. But Web administrators would like to see that number grow.
To that end, administrators with authorization to send university-wide emails will be given guidelines on how to limit requests to send them. About 90 percent of general email announcements currently sent will appear instead as announcements on the “My Connection” page of USFconnect. Only “action” emails—messages announcing imminent deadlines and actions that must be taken—will be sent to large portions of the campus community.
“It makes it less productive for faculty to scroll through long lists of email while USFconnect allows the information to be more targeted and efficient,” said Gregory DeBourgh, assistant nursing professor and a member of the USFconnect action team. “It affects productivity in a big way.”
Meanwhile, the number of people who accessed Web for Employees jumped from 133 between August 20 and 28 in 2001 to 799 during the same period this year, Schroeder said. Staff, faculty, and students have also used the USFconnect “groups” page to form some 50 committees and study groups. Eventually, Schroeder said she hopes faculty will use the platform to post Web links and resources for their classes.
Phase two of the USFconnect roll-out will happen next year. It will include integration of library services and other intranet pages, improved speed and functionality of the USFconnect email, and faculty tools for posting and sharing documents.
“I think it will become a central resource and faculty will have it to do as they wish,” Schroeder said. Training sessions and classes are being offered through September. Visit the USFconnect Resource site for information on training and demonstrations.
|
