Officials have revamped DukePass, a web portal that provides services relating to academics and other news at Duke, in an effort to provide students with easier access to more University information online.
In recent weeks students have expressed concern that they have no reliable way of receiving information about campus incidents and security-related events. The DukePass team took this into consideration as it revised the site, which first debuted last spring.
DukePass was developed as a method of providing students with readily available campus and world news, e-mail access, DukeCard account information and both Duke and Internet search engines. Now, the website will also publicize important issues on campus, making mass e-mails to undergraduates necessary only in the most severe situations, Vice President for Student Affairs Larry Moneta said in a campus-wide e-mail Tuesday.
Notifications will be posted and updated regularly, and administrators say this service will make DukePass a convenient and official means of delivering news.
“It’s a consistent way of notifying students without cluttering their e-mail,” said Deb Johnson, director of student administrative services. “We don’t want them to be overwhelmed with useless, meaningless and dated information.”
More than one-third of the undergraduate population accesses the portal regularly, but Johnson said she expects this number to rise as soon as additions and revisions make the site even more user-friendly.
DukePass will gain a new feature Monday called Academic Dashboard, which will enable students to access the ACES and Blackboard websites from one point.
This “single sign-on” characteristic of DukePass gives students access to numerous University applications without having to log in each time, Johnson said. “We’re really trying to make it convenient to conduct academic business from your portal,” she added.
She said she hopes the novelty of the easy-access features will entice more students to use the website. “It’s like, ‘Here’s this new toy. Go play with it,’” she said.
Students said DukePass is theoretically convenient, but they are not too inclined to change their home pages or their habits.
“I like the idea, but it would take me a while to actually get used to using it,” sophomore Jessica Ballou said. “If it’s really important information, then I think that e-mail is still the best way to reach people.”
Other students said the portal, with its all-encompassing log-in system, could be useful but is not absolutely necessary. “It’s not really that hard to access ACES and Blackboard,” senior Matt Nusnbaum said. “If you can’t get to them you shouldn’t be at Duke.”
Johnson said the DukePass team places a heavy emphasis on the fact that DukePass is a student-driven project.
Representatives from various student organizations regulate the content of the website as part of an advisory team and an undergraduate student services team. The team members take into account student feedback and prioritize what kinds of changes need to be made.
Pending projects include surveys, online ticket sales and instant messaging programs.
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