Many students have noticed the changes Calvin Information Technology (CIT) has rolled out in Portal and the student resources page. According to Matt Jeltema, Associate Director of Information Systems, the Portal upgrade, which started in the spring, will be picked up later in the fall. The project represents a collaboration between CIT, the Communications and Marketing department, Human Resources and others.

CIT regularly re-evaluates software and systems used at Calvin to make sure they are still the up-to-date. The old Portal ran an old version of software which necessitated change. However, because of the overlap between the old Portal and Office 365, the old Portal could not be entirely replaced with a new site. Instead, it was distributed into the Student Resources page on Calvin’s website with hopes of making it simpler for students to find information.

Jeltema added that the only difference that exists between the old Portal and the new page is in the physical features of both; however, with the new page the structure looks better on mobile devices.

Sophomore Kabasinga Samantha Kagabo has used the old Portal for about a year and expressed that she prefers its structure and ease of access over the new setup. She expressed frustration at having to log into every section to access information. Senior Andrew Oppong, Calvin student body president, shared the same view. He agrees that the structure of the AER on the old portal is more viewer-friendly and now, with the new page, he has to go back to access subcategories on the page.

Beginning in 2019, CIT will begin rolling out projects related to the college’s strategic plan. According to Jeltema, additional upgrades will include WebAdvisor replacement software, used for course registration, payroll information, etc. They will launch sometime this year.