After several years of using the same portal, Marshall’s primary online resource center is undergoing a makeover.

The new myMU portal will launch Saturday, Aug. 31, offering students an updated version intended to enhance the online experience of students, faculty and staff. 

“It’s going to increase our ability to serve students and give them the right information when they need it,” said Cody Hall, the customer relationship manager for Marshall’s Information Technology Department.

The updated myMU contains new features such as the “My Involvement” tab which allows students to access and store information about their experiences at the university. The “My Team” tab, Hall said, will help students more easily contact their professors, advisors and other resources. Additionally, the “My Academics” tab will take students directly to their assignments on Blackboard.

“The main idea was to give students, faculty and staff a one-stop shop to be able to access all their information,” Hall said.

The “My Support” tab, which is in coordination with the IT department, will undergo significant changes from its initial role on the original myMU.

The support tab, Hall said, is shifting its focus to self-service, allowing students to troubleshoot IT issues more independently. The tab will soon have an AI chatbot which will direct students to knowledge-based articles that can answer their questions.

However, the IT service desk will still be available during its regular hours for users needing personal assistance.

“We never want to remove the human element from our IT service, so they’ll be able to talk an actual IT service member,” Hall said.

Users will also have the opportunity to customize their new myMU page with the “Favorites” tab, under which one can save their most-used features.  

While the original myMU will become inaccessible after Saturday, Hall said students, faculty and staff should not fear the change.

“There will be no major shift,” he said. “They’ll go to the same website and use the same login.”

Users will also have the opportunity to submit their feedback on the new myMU for 30 days after its launch. The feedback survey is on the portal’s home page under the “New myMU Transition” tab. 

Although the change is occurring at the same time as the transition from Blackboard to Blackboard Ultra, Hall said the changes are unrelated.