Recently in Functionality Category

It’s been almost 2 months since we began rolling myUChicago out to students across the University and in that time we’ve received many comments, suggestions, and recommendations.

A recurring theme in many of your comments is the desire to have more functionality integrated into myUChicago itself, rather than just aggregate links that launch to other University sites. There are 2 responses to this and I want to use this post to address them both.

1: We’re not reinventing the wheel, just making it run smoother
Part of myUChicago’ s function is to make it easier to find and access University information and systems that already exist. It is not the goal of myUChicago to replace robust systems already designed to perform a range of important tasks (like registration, email, and calendaring). Rather, the goal is to make it easier to use the resources that are already out there.

We want you to be able to find exactly what you need without searching, digging, hitting dead ends, or opening twenty tabs to complete a single task. And myUChicago was designed to be a big piece of that puzzle.

So will the links stay? In a word: yes. Are they going to be the only way to access information in myUChicago? Well … no. Which brings us to point number two.

2: This is only the beginning
One of the most important things to remember about myUChicago is that it is in its infancy. The recent launch for students—and forthcoming faculty and staff launches—marks the beginning of a project with a long life expectancy and equally long development cycle. So what’s that mean in English? It means that we will continue to measure user feedback and statistics to determine what integrated functionality will be most useful to the most people, and then put the things that make the most sense in over time.

Right now there are several portlets with some form of integrated functionality, including RSS feeds, Bookmarks, Course Information, Personal contact information, Weather, Announcements, and Alerts, to name a few. We are working to get even more dynamic content into myUChicago and will keep you updated as development progresses.

Your input makes a difference
A big part of the development process is the feedback we get from you as a user. So feel free to tell us what you think. Continue to share what you like, what you don’t, and what we can do to make myUChicago even more useful. We aren’t promising every request will make it into the site, but we can guaranty your voice will be heard.

Over the past few weeks we have been rolling out myUChicago to students across the University, and with it a range of new and integrated tools designed to help simplify the way you access UChicago systems and information on the Web. One of those tools is Single sign-on (SSO).

Since not everyone is familiar with Single sign-on or the benefits it brings, we thought it might be a good idea to give a brief overview of what it is, what it does, and how it will be helpful to you as you dig into myUChicago and explore all it has to offer.

The Basics

Single sign-on (SSO) was developed to simplify access to multiple password-protected systems, minimizing the issues associated with managing numerous usernames and passwords. OpenID and Microsoft Passport (now called Windows Live ID) are examples of SSO services.

SSO is a property of multiple related, but independent systems that allows a user to log into one system, and then have access to all other related systems without logging in again. Sign in once, and then you’re done.

Why this matters

Imagine not having to manually log into 15 different systems just to complete a single task. Imagine access to password-protected systems aggregated to a single location. How much easier would that make things? Based on what we’ve heard so far, a lot easier. And that’s what Single sign-on provides: and easier way to conduct your University business.

Of course, as much as we wish it were just that simple, there are a few things to keep in mind when it comes to Single sign-on.

It’s a two way street

In order for Single sign-on to work across systems, it needs to be implemented on both ends. Meaning, just because Single sign-on is operational in myUChicago, doesn’t mean it will work in ever other system myUChicago links to.

While we are currently working with other University divisions to determine which systems can/will be brought online with SSO, we are at the beginning stages of a process that will take time to implement. So please be patient, and let us know where you think SSO would be the most helpful to you.

Safety First

Single sign-on is a useful, convenient tool that makes it easy to get in and out of password-protected systems. Unfortunately, that means it’s also easy for others to get in and out of multiple systems using a single log in, should you walk away from a personal or public computer without completely ending your session.

The myUChicago implementation of Single sign-on has a 30-minute idle time-out to help minimize the risk (do nothing for 30 minutes on the site and it kicks you out). And while that is much better than the standard 8-hour window of many SSO systems, in order to more fully protect your information, it is important that you completely exit your browser application when you are finished using myUChicago. If you don’t, your session could remain active, making your information vulnerable.

And because security is a top priority when comes to your personal information, it is important to note that there are some University systems that will NOT participate in Single sign-on. We will be sure to keep you informed as those systems are identified.

What to look for

We have tried to make the integration of Single sign-on very visible within the context of myUChicago. Links in the site that make use of Single-sign on are marked by the following icon:

When you see ‘Single sign-on enabled,’ you know the outlying system will not require you to log in again. Simple.

Who’s using Single sign-on?

Current systems that make use of Single sign-on include:

• For students

  • College Registration
  • College Course Request
  • Grad Registration

• For Faculty and Staff

  • xMail
  • Staff Access
  • Faculty Access
  • Tracs

As we said, we are working to get more systems online in the coming months, so if there are applications that you think would benefit from SSO, log into myUChicago and send us a note using the “Feedback” link (it’s on the left side of every page). Or you can send us an email at portal-feedback@cticket.uchicago.edu.