Between all the printer woes and other side projects, I’ve been working heavily on the first major overhaul of the UM Admissions website since I started my position on their team. Today I finished the core of the work and sent it around the office for feedback. I hope we get all the little bugs out by the Tuesday launch.

Perhaps this weekend I’ll work on a writeup of what all went on for this project. In the meantime, why don’t you check out our universities dabbling in the YouTube craze with two characters named Josh and Noah.

Staff and faculty usually have very strict data silos, and are often quite demanding of having information at their fingertips matching their department’s organization. These users won’t touch your jump pages because they are too generic and don’t meet their needs. Perhaps a universal portal system could take care of this, personalizing the content for the individual; however, these systems are costly and time consuming to build and tailor to faculty and staff needs in a day where student services are the only items on the budgetary menu. The answer is simple: create static department portal page (aka a Poor Man’s Portal).

What do I mean when I say static department portal page? It’s simple, create a basic HTML document that can be housed on a web sever or file share that points to exactly what members in a data silo need. Have them set it as their homepage, so any time they need answers they just pull up a web browser.

The information desk, or admissions office is an ideal candidate for such a simple solution. Every day the staff and student workers answer phone calls with highly creative questions about diverse facets of the institutions policies, people, and programs. One of these static departmental portal homepages in an admissions office could offer a quick redirect to Residential Life room rates, the Registrars Office policy on in-state residency, and scholarships for minorities.

With a couple questions to the staff, and 10 minutes of a web developer’s time, an entire department can have in place a portal that is just as functional as one that would cost many thousands of dollars to implement, and you could even include an email/Citrix/SharePoint login form too. For a 10 minute job, this will save tons of time for those on the front line while providing faster and better support to your students-talk about a return on investment.

If it meets the needs of a large portion of your staff, it could serve as a messaging platform (perhaps most useful with work-study students, who aren’t on the office distribution list.)

I’ll be implementing this type of a project for my admissions office some time soon. I’ll post a follow-up after I see how well it actually works.

Since the VT server is going down due to high traffic, here is a copy of the President’s statement (taken as of 11:21 MST 4/16/07):

Shooting at Virginia Tech / Statement by President Charles W. Steger

By Larry Hincker

BLACKSBURG, Va., April 16, 2007

The university was struck today with a tragedy of monumental proportions. There were two shootings on campus. In each case, there were fatalities. The university is shocked and horrified that this would befall our campus. I want to extend my deepest, sincerest and most profound sympathies to the families of these victims which include students There are 22 confirmed deaths.

We currently are in the process of notifying families of victims. The Virginia Tech Police are being assisted by numerous other jurisdictions. Crime scenes are being investigated by the FBI, University Police, and State Police. We continue to work to identify the victims impacted by this tragedy. I cannot begin to covey my own personal sense of loss over this senselessness of such an incomprehensible and heinous act The university will immediately set up counseling centers. So far centers have been identified in Ambler Johnston and the Cook Counseling Center to work with our campus community and families.

Here are some of the facts we know:

At about 7:15 a.m. this morning a 911 call came to the University Police Department concerning an event in West Ambler Johnston Hall. There were multiple shooting victims. While in the process of investigating, about two hours later the university received reports of a shooting in Norris Hall. The police immediately responded. Victims have been transported to various hospitals in the immediate area in the region to receive emergency treatment.

We will proceed to contact the families of victims as identities are available.

All classes are cancelled [sic] and the university is closed for the remainder of today. The university will open Tuesday at 8 a.m. but classes are cancelled. [sic] The police are currently staging the release of people from campus buildings.

Families wishing to reunite with the students are suggested to meet at the Inn at Virginia Tech. We are making plans for a convocation tomorrow (Tuesday) at noon at Cassell Coliseum for the university community to come together to begin to deal with the tragedy.

Counseling is available in the Bowman Room in the Merriman Center (part of the athletic complex) for employees who seek assistance following today’s events.

Faculty and staff on the Burruss side of the Drillfield are being released and asked to go home effective immediately. Faculty and staff on the War Memorial side are asked to leave at 12:30 p.m.

Virginia Tech has closed today Monday, April 16, 2007. On Tuesday, April 17, classes will be canceled. The university will remain open for administrative operations.

There will be an additional university statement presented today at noon.

All students, faculty, and staff are required to stay where they are until police execute a planned evacuation. A phased closing will be in effect today; further information will be forthcoming as soon as police secure the campus.

Tomorrow, there will be a university convocation/ceremony at noon at Cassell Coliseum. The Inn at Virginia Tech has been designated as the site for parents to gather and obtain information.

In addition to an earlier shooting today in West Ambler Johnston, there has been a multiple shooting with multiple victims in Norris Hall.

Police and EMS are on the scene.

Police have one shooter in custody and as part of routine police procedure, they continue to search for a second shooter.

All people in university buildings are required to stay inside until further notice.

All entrances to campus are closed.