Officials to update campus directories

In an effort to establish a more streamlined online communication system, UNC’s Information Technology Services department is introducing two new campus­wide initiatives this fall.

Beginning in August, ITS will change how students, faculty and staff can contact one another by providing a revamped online directory search engine and establishing firmer policies regarding the distribution and creation of University e-mail accounts and Onyens.

“We’re trying to create a more reliable means of communication across the University because before there wasn’t one,” said Megan Bell, acting assistant director of ITS communications.

The first of these changes, the revamped online campus directory Web site, will effectively compile the University’s mass of previously individual directories into one centralized search engine.

The move is aimed toward offering a uniform means of searching for and updating personal information, including telephone and e-mail contacts and privacy settings.

The new online directory also will offer more specific search tools, affording users the opportunity to scan for the contact information of students, faculty and staff by department, in addition to searches by last name that are used now.

The refurbished online campus directory comes as the result of a collaborative effort between the directory steering committee and the ITS project team.

The second of the ITS department’s summer renovations is an attempt to “improve the relay of information” across campus, Systems Accountant David Pass said.

The improvement will come in the form of new University procedures regarding the assignment of Onyens and Onyen-based e-mail addresses to incoming students, faculty and staff.

In previous years, new faculty and students were only assigned PID numbers upon enrollment and hiring and were not required to create individual University e-mail accounts.

This oversight meant many students and staff who neglected to set up University accounts would not receive campuswide e-mails, and therefore would not be aware of important information such as campus security and meningitis alerts.

This fall, however, such problems will be remedied as incoming students will be assigned Onyens and University e-mail accounts along with their PID numbers.

Other University departments that maintain individual e-mail systems, such as the Kenan-Flagler Business School and the UNC School of Medicine, also will be linked via a trusted domain process to ensure that security guidelines are met and that important information is communicated across campus.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.