A number of organizations have taken the portal concept and applied it to their organizational needs. This type of portal is designed to address the needs of a user population with specific relationships to the organization. As such, the portal may be much more focused on the needs of that user population and can therefore better meet their needs as well as the needs of the organization. This type of portal is typically called a vertical portal.

One of the more important aspects of a portal is the ability to configure and personalize the portal, thus making the portal unique to each individual. Users may configure the portal to display those features they wish to see. The features available to any one individual may be different, depending on the nature of their relationship with the organization.

The University of Maryland is currently undertaking the development of a vertical portal. This portal is intended to provide a comprehensive and fully integrated set of tools for people to interact with and do business with the University. These interactions might include everything from registering for classes to paying a bill, from accessing course assignments to finding out when the SGA next meets, from checking grades to communicating with a professor. Ultimately, it is envisioned that any interaction a member of the University community might have with the University could be handled entirely within the context of the portal.

The University community is made up of many constituencies, each with specific needs, including the basic groups of students, faculty, and staff, as well as some additional groups such as prospective students, parents, alumni, high school counselors, visiting faculty, prospective employees, and others affiliated with the University. All constituency needs will not be able to be addressed at the outset, or perhaps for several years.

The portal will require an ongoing effort to implement and maintain. The set of features will change and evolve, based on the changing needs of the University. However, there will be a core set of applications in the portal: a tie-in to registration information, access to email, a calendar system, access to the course management system, and more.

The Office of Information Technology (OIT) is establishing a full Portal Development Team for this project. They will design and implement the functional portal environment, construct connectors to legacy systems, develop additional applications in support of the portal, and generally provide the technical expertise required for the implementation of the portal. David Henry, OIT Director of Technical Architecture, will lead the project team. New OIT staff member Dan Fox will serve as Technical Manager and Developer.

In addition, the University Portal Development Advisory Committee, representative of a broad cross-section of University functions and service units, is now meeting monthly. This Committee will provide general direction for the project, assist in the collection of input from university constituencies, help establish relative importance of features, and generally ensure the University needs are met by the results of this project. University Registrar David Robb chairs the Committee.

Throughout the project, input will be solicited from University constituencies. At a minimum, the project will hold focus groups and usability studies with students, faculty, and staff at regular intervals to both determine missing function and learn how well the already included features meet their intended purpose.

A number of functions expected to be included in the portal will require a tie-in to existing systems and information resources. Some existing systems may require modification to accommodate the portal, and there may be a need for developer time on the part of those supporting particular systems. As such, it will be necessary to involve those responsible for those systems and information resources in this project from the outset.

The University Portal is a significant undertaking of the University. This long-term project will involve a large number of individuals, systems, and data resources. The result will be a consolidated access point for all faculty, staff, students, prospective students, alumni, and others. The portal will provide an opportunity to unify a large number of disparate systems and services, helping to provide a much simpler environment for members of the University community to do business with the University.

The project’s web site is located at http://www.oit.umd.edu/portal.

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