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Online tool aims to improve advising process

A new piece of technology aimed at streamlining the advising process by making all the necessary resources available online is available for the KU community this semester.

The KU Online Advising Tool recently went live after 18 months of development. The tool, which is available to advisers, students and other approved faculty and staff, is accessible through the Kyou Portal. Provost and Executive Vice Chancellor Richard Lariviere said the tool will be an asset to all involved in the advising process.

"I am confident this tool will prove an effective means for supporting our students' progress toward timely graduation, and make us all more efficient and effective in meeting our students' needs," Lariviere said.

Demonstration sessions

February 15: 10:30 a.m. - noon, Alderson Auditorium, Kansas Union
February 20: 3:30 - 5 p.m., Courtside Room, Burge Union

The first phase of the tool has several features that are available now, and more will be unveiled in the future. An advising tab is available to all users. It has information on courses, including times, how they fulfill principal course requirements and more. An academic notification feature is also included in the first phase of the tool. The notification allows advisers to alert students to when new information, which cannot be sent via e-mail for privacy reasons, is in their account. Students will receive an e-mail notifying them that new information is available. They can then log in to find the information.

Advising notes will be available for staff users, and secure student records will be accessible to authorized users. The information will stay part of a students' record if they change advisers or majors. The tool also features a calendar function that advisers and students can use to arrange appointments.

The tool will eventually take the place of the Advising Requirements Tracking System, or ARTS, the current advising information system.

Julie Loats, project director for Information Services, and one of the developers of the tool, said more features are coming and users will have a voice in how the advising tool evolves.

"This is really just the beginning," she said. "Users will be able to drive what happens and how it can be used as it goes forward by using the online forum feature."

One of the planned additions is a degree audit feature, which will enable users to view a student's information and map a course of necessary requirements the student needs to complete to graduate.

Mark Pickerel, systems administrator with Student Information Systems, said advisers will benefit from the tool's central nature, and students will be able to use it to plot the course to their degrees more effectively.

"This will integrate more resources and capabilities in to the portal and make it more accessible. It will also be a place where students can go to see what they need to do to get their degree in a more definitive format," Pickerel said.

A series of demonstration sessions are being scheduled for advisers across campus.

Information Services, Student Success, University Relations and the KU Medical Center developed the KU Online Advising Tool. Advisers from the Lawrence, Edwards and KU Medical Center campuses all helped identify the tool's features and functions.

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