September 2002 — Features
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The NEW DIGITAL CAMPUS
The ITS team is currently developing a variety of technology applications that can be accessed from the digital campus, including a portfolio creation system that performs reflective assessments for students. So far, the team has developed a pilot application based on JA-SIG code, which records a combination of academic and student activities for three classes in the education department. When complete, the portfolios will contain faculty evaluations for 50 to 75 students studying early childhood education. The career services department plans to use this application as a resource when helping graduating students find jobs. The digital campus' value has also been recognized as a vehicle for disseminating information using integrated e-mail and personalized alerts as a means for facilitating group contact.
Plymouth State is also looking to leverage the features of the Web Platform to serve all communities based on role. For example, the ITS team is using iCalendar, powered by the Sun ONE Calendar Server (formerly iPlanet Calendar Server), to facilitate collaboration and planning among online constituents. This collaboration includes distributing up-to-date information among the entire user base by updating all individual calendars in real time.
Plymouth State's counseling center is currently working with the ITS team to let students share their Web-based calendars with their parents. Students can also pass on pertinent information, such as tuition payment reminders and event invitations. The ITS team predicts that this role-based messaging will foster improved communication between students and parents, as well as increase retention rates.
The ITS team is now spending less time writing and maintaining a growing, complex code set; focusing more attention on leveraging and applying technology to its educational community. Staff requirements to maintain the digital campus is equivalent to the time of three full-time employees, as opposed to the five full-time employees required to maintain MySILAS. From a total cost of ownership perspective, the money invested in the Web Platform will be more than recovered in the money we will save in decreased staff time. In addition, we now have a professional product backed by a professional company, and are able to focus on the true business at hand without putting undo strain on our pocketbook.
Future Plans
The ITS team expects to build on its 20th century success in Web e-business and single sign-on personalized services by extending the borders of a 21st century digital campus - creating an extended learning community. Plymouth State's decision to partner with a third-party provider led to increased flexibility of the ITS team, enabling them to focus on future IT plans instead of wiring miles of code. Through its digital campus, Plymouth State hopes to continue fostering personal and shared relationships between information and people. Out of Plymouth State's 4,000 students, about 85 percent of them have used MySILAS to access campus resources. In addition, its new digital campus is closing the gap and inspiring most students to use the technology.
