BOWLING GREEN, O. -- Bowling Green State University has received a $1,087,450 five-year grant from CampusEAI for portal software and service to implement Enterprise Portal Integration. Initiation implementation is scheduled for December 2004.

An enterprise portal will allow for customization of applications and tools in a single sign-on environment. Based on the user sign on, the information presented can be personalized to fit each user's needs, according to BGSU's Chief Information Officer Bruce Petryshak. A staff member, for instance, will see information and services tailored to his or her needs. The services and resources will be different than the resources presented to a prospective student who accesses the portal.

The University has benefited from the resources of the Blackboard portal and the instructional support it provides. The Blackboard portal will be a key part of the enterprise portal, along with other portal applications or "portlets" designed to provide specific services, Petryshak said.

Features and benefits of the enterprise portal include:

* Unified access to multiple systems, which streamlines processes across organizational boundaries by providing unprecedented access to information interrelating multiple systems and databases.

* Personalization, which provides a Web-based experience tailored by role and job function.

* Single access point, which gives access to virtually all authorized systems and collaboration tools with one password.

* Security, which meets needs defined by the business role or user.

* Advance search and navigation capacity, which streamlines navigation of multiple databases.

* Accessibility, from anywhere at any time via Internet and Web browsers.

* Administration, which, because no local software installation is required, allows for rapid development of Web-based solutions.

Bowling Green has partnered with Washington State University, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Tennessee-Knoxville and Case Western Reserve University in a collaborative approach to the grant development.

Each partner will develop portlet applications that will be contributed to a central depository for use by other CampusEAI members. The portlets developed will be based on standards and open-source approaches that will benefit all member institutions.

(Posted April 02, 2004)