Publishing and sharing information online just got a lot easier.

Coming this August, MySimmons is relaunching as a "public beta" with all new campus events and announcements, blogs, groups and online services. And this is only the start!

Below are brief overviews of each of the components that will be available in the initial release. Planning has already begun on the next round of additions and enhancements, so, we're very much looking forward to your feedback to help guide our work.

Campus events and announcements are entirely new. Each has a dedicated screen for viewing and managing items sent to you. You can mark items as important, or delete them.

Moreover, now you’ll be able to subscribe to posts by category. If you opt-out of a category, you will only receive an item from that category if it is truly “critical,” so the volume of information sent your way is entirely up to you! Item submission and moderation have also been completely revamped.

Personal web publishing is a click away. You no longer need to know anything about HTML or FTP. Just login to the Portal, select "Blogs" and start publishing. You can also fill out your profile so friends and colleagues can find you online.

Have you ever wanted to share documents, notes, calendars and files with a group at Simmons? Now, it's as easy as clicking a button to create a new group. Any content posted can be set as private to the group or made public. This is handy for sharing information with group members, or posting promotional items about your activities for everyone to see.

While you'll have ready access to Webmail, eLearning and AARC right from the new MySimmons home page, we've now gathered together every online service Simmons offers in one place. Moreover, once you login, you'll only see services that apply to you — so, students, staff and faculty will each have a unique view of applicable options. This way, it will be easier to find the service you are looking for.

The MySimmons Portal represents a new way of doing things. Going forward, you can expect to see major additions and enhancements to the site every few months, with minor ongoing enhancements.

Your feedback can help guide what MySimmons will become, so we hope when the site is available to the community, that you'll take some time, login and try it out. And we hope you'll let us know the things that work for you, as well as areas for improvement and future enhancements.

Keep an eye out for additional announcements as the launch approaches with further details on changes to MySimmons.

Best,
Bob

Robert M. Kuhn, Ph.D.
Executive Director of Technology

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