New myWSU website aims for usability

ITS considers student input on organization, accessibility of update

BREANNE SEARING, Evergreen reporter

WSU has been working on updating the myWSU website to create a new interface design, which should be available to students this summer.

The myWSU main page will feature tiles, each leading students to their personalized data.

With the new update, students will be able to access the information they are looking for with a single click on a tile, rather than the current drop-down menu system.

Guy Westhoff, director of Enterprise Systems at WSU, is leading this technical upgrade of the myWSU system. He said the new interface will present the same user design when connected with a laptop, tablet or smartphone.

“The system will be device-aware,” Westhoff said, “and will resize based on the device you are using.”

The update aims to increase the website’s functionality based on feedback given by students who participated in the design process. Westhoff said they have held several focus groups, inviting students to preview the interface.

ASWSU has been working with the Information Technology Services Enterprise Systems Group to make sure the new update is user-friendly, Westhoff said.

Colleen McMahon, ASWSU director of university affairs, said she hopes the update will make it easier for students to use the resources available to them online, such as signing up for classes and creating four-year plans.

“There is a lot of student input going into this update,” McMahon said. “This is really important, because they are the main people who are using it.”

Westhoff said he wants the new design to launch this summer, tentatively around the beginning of June. Incoming students going through orientation would be introduced and taught how to navigate the new webpage.