A committee dedicated to RAMweb design gathered Tuesday to decide which aspects of the student portal are going under the knife, and what new features will be available.
According to Registrar Chris Seng, the new RAMweb will be more logically organized, user-friendly and modern.
“The overall look and feel of the student portal has not changed in over 10 years,” Seng said. “Even some of the underlying code is outdated. It’s time for an update.”
Seng said the design will be largely structured around the winning three-column layout featured on ASCSU ballots in the recent election. It will also include a comment box so that students can directly communicate with ASCSU.
ASCSU President-elect Jason Sydoriak said although the proposed changes did not come through the senate, the student government plans on supporting the comment box.
“This is a great idea, and something my administration will ensure is put into use,” Sydoriak said. “It’s an opportunity to communicate better with students.”
Patricia Nease, a fish, wildlife and conservation biology sophomore, said she voted for a proposed design, but has mixed feelings about the changes.
“If there had been an option to vote for RAMweb to stay the same, I would have chosen it,” Nease said. “This might make things more complicated.”
Nease said she is excited about the comment box option.
“ASCSU needs more direct student input to better serve the entire student population,” Nease said.
According to Registrar and Senior Developer Terri Pecora, ASCSU was not involved in the proposed design changes, but several options were put on government election ballots in order to reach a large student audience.
“None of the candidates were associated with the committee proposing the changes,” Pecora said. “We got approval directly from the elections committee.”
Seng said student-oriented changes will include options for different student experiences, such as a first-year option for new students, as well as mobile availability through the RAMmobile app.
A secondary goal of the updates is to modernize the webpage for future users, Seng said.
“The portal is used by all students,” Seng said. “We want it to be fresh and sharp.”
Pecora said there is no estimated release date yet for the new RAMweb.
“We’re still in the early stages,” Pecora said. “We need to take the structure approved by the students and bring it up to CSU standards.”
Collegian Reporter Rachel Musselmann can be reached at news@collegian.com or on Twitter @rmusselmann.
