University staff give MyFIU a new look

Camila Fernandez/Assistant News Director
camila.fernandez@fiusm.com

The commonly used MyFIU website and mobile version underwent their first phase of design enhancements this fall semester.

Launched in spring 2007, the website was created by the Division of Information and Technology to change the way students used the Panthersoft system, rather than having to pull up different web pages to look for financial information and class schedules.

The website has allowed users to do this, as well as to register for classes and enter their FIU e-mail, all in one place.

To revamp the user-experience, the division began planning, designing and developing the changes to the site and mobile app eight months ago, said Robert Grillo, vice president and chief information officer of the Division of IT.

The changes were introduced to users on Oct. 26. Two days later, FIU was awarded the Cybersecurity Leadership and Innovation Award in the Education category by the Center for Digital Government for its cybersecurity efforts.

Some of these changes include links that provide University information and news and other tools and resources without the need of having to log into the website. Panther Links have been redesigned to display the most widely used direct links.

For the mobile app version, which was launched in 2011, a PantherTrack service was incorporated to track University shuttles and bus en route to the Biscayne Bay Campus and the Engineering Center by using real-time pictures.

Grillo said that its cleaner and more modern responsive design interfaces better with newer versions of Apple’s iOS, OS X and Google’s Android.

Despite the updates, students like Heidi Castellanos, a sophomore marketing major, said that the changes haven’t been very notable. She said that the Panther Degree Audit link should be more apparent as well as the links to financial information.

“More visual rather than writing,” said Castellanos. “[And] unless you haven’t been in the school for a while, you don’t even know what any of these stuff are.”

However, Grillo said this is just the first phase in the Division of IT’s continuing effort to enhance the University’s applications and services.

The next phase will be to incorporate an extended validation certificate on the site’s weblink to decrease the amount of phishing e-mails and scams that redirect users to duplicate sites that steal usernames and passwords.

Grillo said that the new layouts were based on input from students, faculty and staff.

“We sought input from students on design elements for the site and its usability. After deployment, we continually surveyed students to receive feedback for future enhancements,” Grillo said. “Our primary motivation is to continue to keep the site and mobile applications modern and easier to use.”

Academic advisor Paige Johnson said that the alterations have been useful, especially since she is both a University employee and a doctoral student. As an academic advisor, she said that the changes has made it easier for her to direct students to their transcripts, for example.

“It’s a little more cleaner so you can direct students to ‘transcripts are here,’ as opposed to going through a bunch of different links,” said Johnson. “Students just want to see [everything] right there. They don’t want to have to search. When they search, they don’t care anymore.”

Also, she said that she has encouraged her students to use the mobile app to stay on track of their information.

“You could be anywhere in the world, go to the mobile app, register for your classes, hit and enroll and you’re done.”