myEssex: the student portal

The myEssex student portal offers students structured sets of links to online services and information, customised for each user, and with further options for users to personalise a range of features. The portal delivers customised links and information based on what it knows about the user (you are studying these courses, you are based at Loughton/Colchester, etc) and personalised by the user (the user can choose to hide some links, add others, and change the presentation).

Why can't staff see the portal as students see it?

The portal identifies each user from his or her log-on information, using this to load a unique, tailored version of the portal, based on who the user is and the choices they have previously made. Nobody else can load that user's instance of the portal, so personal data and portal preferences are secure. If you are not a student, the portal cannot deliver you the course-related resources it would normally display, so when a member of staff views the portal there will be some significant gaps in coverage.

Members of staff can see a demonstration version of the portal created for our test student 'Billy Bunter', allowing a view of the portal as seen by a postgraduate sports science student. This demonstration view of the portal has some shortcomings, though, so you should read the cautionary notes on the following web page before following the link from that page to Billy's portal:

https://www.essex.ac.uk/myessex/staffview.htm

Availability

A trial version of the portal was launched on 6 May 2004. The full release will take place in October 2004. Students can see their own version of the portal at:

https://www.essex.ac.uk/myessex/

Implications of the portal

Prominence of online resources and information

• The launch of the portal marks a shift in emphasis, highlighting the point that the University is now doing a significant amount of its day-to-day business online, so any online information must be complete and current. For example, the course catalogue is integral to the delivery of relevant learning resources, with entries for the user's current courses included in each user's instance of the portal. Following on from this, users now have a more direct route to the Course Materials Repository. The programme specifications catalogue is less prominent, but will also feature more as the portal develops.
  
  

Awareness

• Students can conduct a lot of business online, and the portal is likely to be the starting point for most of their online interactions with the University.
  
  

Publicity

• The portal will be advertised widely, particularly when it is launched fully in October. Part of this will include publicity for staff to ensure that everyone knows what the portal offers, so that departmental information and face-to-face advice to students can refer to it where appropriate.
  
  

Signposting the portal to students

• Some standard text to be inserted in the online versions of departmental handbooks or other departmental information will be made available in time for the October launch.
• Departmental websites should link to the portal from all appropriate points. The URL to use is below.

Feedback

Feedback and suggestions on the portal are welcome:

https://www.essex.ac.uk/myessex/feedback.asp

myEssex: the student portal

for students: https://www.essex.ac.uk/myessex/

staff demonstration view: https://www.essex.ac.uk/myessex/staffview.htm