Enterprise Information Technology Services Press Release
The University of Georgia
Athens, Georgia

OCIO > EITS > Press Releases

Monday, February 15, 2009

WRITER: Bert DeSimone,706-338-9849, bert@uga.edu
CONTACTS: Portal Project Team, sriman@uga.edu, and EITS Help Desk,706-542-3106, helpdesk@uga.edu

Launch of next-generation MyUGA scheduled for March 2

Note: Due to inclement weather, the launch of the next-generation MyUGA has been delayed until March 4.

MyUGA is a Web location which provides access to a diverse set of resources and Web-based services such as electronic mail, course information, student services, news, announcements, campus maps, etc. Many of these services are accessible through MyUGA to everyone with a University of Georgia MyID. MyUGA was designed for students. Faculty and staff also use it to provide services and interact with students. The next-generation MyUGA is a source to "access resources and connect with UGA," taking advantage of the one-stop shop that MyUGA offers.

"The current MyUGA architecture is not supported by the vendor and is limited in its ability to extend new functionality, Web applications, and services. Maintenance, support, and enhancements to the current portal to meet UGA student needs are difficult and costly," said Rehan Khan, associate CIO for ADDM.

Khan, who is overseeing the implementation of the next-generation MyUGA, said that the new portal project addresses student stated goals of offering a modern, fluid, and intuitive Web experience combined with new and enhanced services that are of interest to students. These include greater use of single sign-on to applications, links to UGA units serving students, bookstore, library, parking, announcements, calendars, sports, news, and access to social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Google, etc.

"The project plan includes engaging with students and faculty to identify and establish new channels and a variety of Web resources customized for their individual needs," said Khan. "These may include secure access to schedules, grades, student account information, e-mail, etc. The current portal has made significant progress toward that benchmark and the next-generation MyUGA will help us build upon that success."

The implementation of the next-generation MyUGA is a multi-phased project, with the phases outlined as follows:

• Phase 1— March 2, 2009: MyUGA will be moved to a new platform with new software and hardware. The new portal software is called uPortal. Moving to uPortal will serve two primary purposes: modernize and stabilize MyUGA while creating an environment that will allow for future enhancements and improved services.
• Phase 2: March 2—August 1, 2009: Focus groups, surveys, and input mechanisms will be used to gather information from UGA students, faculty, and staff on new features and services to be added. These requests will be prioritized and implemented as feasible.
• Phase 3: August 15—Ongoing: Features and services not implemented in Phase 2 will be used as the basis for ongoing and continued improvements.

Sriman Ravi, portal project manager, has primary responsibility for implementing the new requirements that are gathered and prioritized during the aforementioned phases. Shawn Ellis, director of EITS Client Services, will help Ravi and the portal development team by facilitating the requirements-gathering process and with providing user support via the UGA Help Desk.

"This multi-phased approach will give us plenty of time to listen and learn from UGA students, as well as faculty and staff, regarding the requirements for the next-generation MyUGA," said Ellis.

"The choice of uPortal, which is used at many other higher education institutions, provides us with an excellent platform on which to build a portal that will serve UGA students today and into the future," said Ravi.

About the Office of the CIO and EITS
The Office of the Chief Information Officer and Enterprise Information Technology Services (EITS) are committed to the mission of UGA as a land-and-sea-grant institution where academics come first and the research extensive university community encourages research efforts at the undergraduate and graduate levels. To that end, under the direction of the University´s Chief Information Officer, EITS endeavors to provide a robust, reliable, and secure information technology infrastructure, maintain essential production services, and offer world-class support.