Student Information Systems Office Looks to Hire Students

The team behind the Faculty of Arts and Sciences’ new student information system—the new my.harvard.edu—aims to hire 15 to 20 undergraduates to learn the “ins and outs” of the system before it is implemented over the summer, according to Jason C. Shaffner ’99, managing director for student information systems.

The undergraduates hired as “ambassadors” will undergo training to learn the new website's features and then can work remotely throughout the summer, according to Shaffner. They will serve as tech assistants by helping students use the system and sending emails to their Houses throughout the year.

In addition, the "ambassadors" will act as the liaisons between the Student Information Systems office and the greater undergraduate community, according to Juliana DiLuca, HUIT communications and marketing specialist.

“This group [will act] as our core group,” DiLuca said. “They will have the finger on the pulse of what’s going on.”

Undergraduates, regardless of their computer science background, can apply for the position, and twenty students already have done so, Shaffner said.

“It’s not really a CS-type thing,” Shaffner said. “We want to make sure we have students [who study] the arts and humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences [involved].”

The new student information system, which will be rolled out in FAS and the Divinity School in the fall, will make electronic the process for completing study cards, obtaining required signatures from advisers and professors, and submitting add/drop course forms. Sophomores also will complete their declaration of concentration forms online through the system.

In addition to housing those documents online, the new my.harvard will feature a degree progress report, according to Shaffner.

“Imagine a report that tells you at a glance [about degree requirements and General Education courses to be completed],” Shaffner said. “It really should be easy to use. Harvard’s got a lot of degrees; basically, we’re turning the 48 Guide into something logical.”

The new student information system also will have a course search function with a “Google-like interface,” Shaffner said. Students will be able to use filters to search for courses by department or by Gen Ed, for example.

“My staff, working with HUIT [Harvard University Information Technology], have been building next year’s course catalog,” FAS Registrar Michael P. Burke said, adding that “Behind the scenes, we are using the new student [information] system... It’s looking great."

“It looks modern, it looks helpful, it looks intuitive,” Burke said. “We won’t need a training course on helping people how to use it, because it’s going to be pretty darn obvious.”

—Staff writer Melissa C. Rodman can be reached at melissa.rodman@thecrimson.com. Follow her on Twitter @melissa_rodman.