The business and finance department, in collaboration with human resources, public relations, and information services, is proud to announce the launch of a new UNMC intranet.
The update, accessible today, provides much-needed improvements to the utility of the current intranet, making it a one-stop shop for employees, faculty and students throughout the workday.
The yearlong redesign is the first since 2009 and is based on more than three years of feedback and usability data. Former UNMC public relations employee Alex Flagg led the project, assisted by an intranet committee (Victor Holly, Galen Kathol, Carmen Sirizzotti, Keith Swarts, Ryan Shaw, Todd Ashmore, Anne Faylor, Dan Moser and Stacie Hamel).
New and Updated Features
The new intranet’s goal is to be an “answers engine” which provides vital information for your workday. Improvements have focused mainly on organization and content, including:
- Easier Access to Information: The intranet is intended to be a “first stop” for work-related information. Key phone numbers, calendars and information is called out so you can find what you’re looking for as quickly as possible.
- More Useful Content: Pages, forms and tools from across hundreds of UNMC websites have been collected in one place so you can find the right information when you need it.
- New Tabs: The existing green tabs have been replaced with new and more intuitive categories for a simpler browsing experience.
- New Personal Features: You now can easily access your personal information, a complete directory of campus phone numbers and websites, or immediate help at the top-right of any page in the intranet.
- Wikis: The intranet uses numerous wikis – databases of information on everything from policies and procedures to handbooks and NU Values – providing a powerful new way for you to better find and comply with the many regulations we face.
- UNMC 101: A new section called UNMC 101 covers the fundamental facts of the university, along with useful maps and information to give a high level view of how we work.
Future plans for the UNMC intranet include an upgrade of the site search engine to further improve your experience and continued updates to the content.
The new intranet is still evolving, and we would like your feedback on how it can be better. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions on how to improve the new UNMC intranet, email the intranet committee at intranet@unmc.edu.
What happened to the quick links?
The email: intranet@unmc.edu is not working. Where did the "quick links" menu page get moved to?
It would've been nice if a link to the Outlook web application had been part of this. There is no easy access to Outlook on campus from this new page.
From the FAQ: Our data on the use of the old Quick Links page showed it was anything but "quick" – many users simply backed out of the page rather than finding the one link they wanted amongst 200 they didn't. Rather than repeat the old structure, we chose to improve on it by providing filtered link collections throughout the site so visitors can search the way they think. For example, the Services section of this site contains far more links than Quick Links, but allows you to browse links alphabetically, by topic, or to jump straight to departments if you want.
Where are the links to Sponsored Programs? Under Quick Links we had access to everything i.e. Cayuse for submitting grants.
How about putting Outlook Web App under the heading My Information under Information Systems along with ADIS, Peoplesoft, Firefly, etc. My Information seems to be the new "Quick Links".
Steven and Jim, the link to email is in the drop-down menu under Log In in the top gray bar. That's also where it was on the old info. If that location is a problem, we can look at adding a link elsewhere, as well. Keep the comments coming, folks. Thank you!
Wally, Sponsored Programs is listed in the department listings under the Services tab, as well as under the topic listing, when you look for the topic of grants. The SPA site is part of our public website, so you also can go directly to it at http://www.unmc.edu/spa. Thanks for the question.
testing comments – kris hammond hrit
Very difficult to find the link for submitting grants – cayuse424
Elaine, cayuse is under Links in the left-hand navigation on the SPA site, which can be found under the Services tab by department or by the topic of grants. You also can bookmark unmc.cayuse424.com. We also could add Cayuse424 to the Department list under the Services tab, if that would be helpful. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Having to search under "employee and faculty" or "my information" is what is time consuming and slow. Maybe those who said the quick links were slow need a new computer. Please bring the quick links back so everything is in one place. Those that think it is too slow don't have to use it. Let them use the new format and allow the rest of us to have quick links.
Sure hope the QUICK LINKS is restored somewhere… We finally got to the point where we trained all our people to start with the Home Page — and then often oriented them to the Quick Links. With that gone, it's been RATHER FRUSTRATING. Since we finally got used to it, can it QUICK LINKS be restored SOMEWHERE (Maybe combine "Quick Links" with "faculty & Staff" tab)?
*Addendum (to previous comment): I reread the comments already posted, and see that information systems are under "My information" on the right side. Speaking purely from a plain 'ole USER, that really does not make much intuitive sense. When I look for ADIS or RSS, it's not to look up "My" information, but to do other things…
Linda, thank you for taking the time to comment. Quick Links was replaced by the Services green tab, which offers a far more complete listing and the ability to sort by department, by topic or by type. You also can bookmark the sites you use every day. Some frequently used links also are accessible through the links you mentioned at the top, as well as in the drop-down menu of the box labeled Log In in the top gray bar. Several also are called out in a box on the right-hand side of the Services home page.
More information about the changes can be found in our FAQ page under Help in the upper right-hand corner. Please let me know if there’s something specific you’re having trouble finding.
Grace, you're right that not everyone thinks about looking for things the same way. That's why most things can be found in more than one place on the new Intranet. For instance, ADIS is listed under the Management green tab, under Management Tools, as well as under My Information. Research Support Services can be reached through the Services green tab, by looking for Research by topic, by type or by department. Thank you for taking the time to comment.
Easier to access information — NOT. This is terrible for trying to easily access information for grant applications, internal forms, etc. PLEASE bring back my QuickLinks.
I miss the Quick Links! Bring back the Quick Links!
Cindy
Maybe you could've been little clearer – like "Quick Links" has been replaced with "Services" or something of that nature. I found this very uninformative…
I've read through these comments and the number one thing that stands out to me is that a lot of people are now having a hard time finding one particular place on the UNMC website. Please take Stacie's advice and bookmark those sites you use all the time. It doesn't make much sense (at least to me) that if you're always using ADIS, to go to Faculty & Staff, click on Quick Links and then finally click the link for ADIS. (Maybe I'm missing something, though.) If you bookmark it, the link can stay visible all the time when you're in your browser. You just need to make the bookmarks toolbar visible. Then you have one simple click and you're at ADIS! And you can even put whole folders of links on your bookmarks toolbar. Though Quick Links was very useful, this new setup will make more sense as new employees are hired and are looking for things. Because, let's face it, Quick Links didn't have EVERYTHING everyone needed to do their jobs. I find this new set up very powerful in that you can find things in a number of ways. I'm sure there are still tweaks to be made, which is why these comments are so useful for the team that implemented this change.
(Bookmarking a site is super easy. When you're there, just press Control and D.)
To make it easier for everyone to find the topic search under the Services tab, we have linked it to the words "Quick Links" in the top gray bar. That way, you can still go to the spot where you've always found links, but you'll be taken to the expanded list of topics. Thanks everyone for your feedback and patience. With your help, we will continue to tweak and improve to make the intranet the best it can be.