MySlice connects Committee on Academic Integrity with University community

MySlice connects Committee on Academic Integrity with University communityApril 07, 2005Judy Holmesjlholmes@syr.edu

When members of the Vice Chancellor and Provost’s Committee on Academic Integrity (VPCAI) needed a way to disseminate the committee’s findings among the Syracuse University community, they chose MySlice, the University’s online information center. MySlice enables the VPCAI to connect faculty, staff and students to the information in the reports and to initiate a University-wide discussion of the findings before the information is released to the broader public. The reports were released on MySlice April 4.

“An important piece of our charge is to assure that the University community is given meaningful opportunities to participate in the process,” says Elet Callahan, committee chair and associate professor of law and public policy in the Martin J. Whitman School of Management. “The opportunity to post the information on MySlice and make it available only within the University community made it easier for us to initiate the dialogue and encourage feedback before recommendations are formulated.”

The VPCAI reports are the latest addition to the online information and services that are available through MySlice, which went live on the Web in September 2004. The Portal Advisory Group (PAG), the University-wide committee that evaluates the kinds of information services that can be integrated into MySlice, is encouraging groups across campus to consider ways in which MySlice can be used to streamline business processes, or to provide personalized Web-based information to members of the University community in an easy-to-maintain, secure environment.

“The Portal Advisory Group includes representatives from all areas of the University,” says Erik Anderson, PAG chair and CMS information technology manager. “We encourage faculty, staff and students to share with us their thoughts and suggestions for ways to enhance MySlice to provide more self-service features, information and applications that are valuable for our clients.”

PAG members will meet with individuals or groups to do informal presentations about the information and services currently available on MySlice and explain how the system uses the University NetID to provide faculty, staff and students access to only those University resources they are authorized to view.

All faculty, staff, and students are assigned a NetID and password. Information about activating the NetID is available on the Web at http://cms.syr.edu/accounts. Currently, students use MySlice to register for classes, adjust and print class schedules and to view grades. Faculty use MySlice to view class rosters. Staff use MySlice to access online reports and information housed in the University’s data warehouse, as well as to access administrative information systems including payroll, student records, admissions, financial aid, human resources and benefits information.

When members of the University community log onto MySlice with their NetID and password, the system uses that information to identify individuals and automatically link them to information and services they are authorized to use. For example, MySlice grants access to the VPCAI reports to any member of the University community who has a NetID and password. But access to other kinds of information is more restrictive. For example, after logging onto MySlice to register for classes, students cannot view their friends’ class schedules. Likewise, employees can only view their own paycheck-located by clicking on “view my paycheck” in the “Employee Services” section-and their own address information located in the “Personal Information” section. Furthermore, staff members can use MySlice to access only the administrative information systems for which they have been previously approved.

“MySlice is a dynamic tool that enables us to provide information and resources to our clients in ways that were not previously possible,” Anderson says. “MySlice is truly an enterprise information center that touches all areas of the University community.”

The PAG members include representatives from each of the University’s cabinet areas-Academic Affairs; Audit and Management Advisory Services; Business, Finance and Administration; Human Services and Government Relations; Information Technology and Services; Institutional Advancement; the Division of Student Affairs; and the SU Library, along with a representative from the Student Association. Information about how to contact PAG members is available at http://myslice.syr.edu .