A World Wide Web-based portal that provides online services customized for students, faculty and staff will be launched next fall at California State University, Chico.

The portal will allow students, faculty and staff to get information and do transactions with different computer platforms without going through separate log-in processes. From a single sign-on, campus community members will be able to register for classes, check records, use e-mail, access a personalized calendar and perform other functions when the portal is fully operational.

Portal users will also receive campus news and information as well as personalized information, such as club meeting notifications, based on their own preferences. Each user will be able to tailor some features of the portal to fit their interests similar to portals used by companies such as Yahoo! and Netscape.

CSU, Chico alumni will also be able to access Web-based services such as signing up for a CSU, Chico e-mail address and joining the alumni association through the portal. These alumni services are expected to launch in early 2002.

The university will use a combination of products from software companies SCT, WebCT and Campus Pipeline to create an integrated platform of information systems that portal users will access. The portal's initial release date will be early fall 2001, with additional features released over the 2001/2002 academic year. Campus Pipeline has worked with 65 other colleges and universities to create portals.

The university portal will be independent of the university's Web pages and will not replace its functions. Use of the portal will not be mandatory for students, faculty and staff. Existing services, such as phone-based registration for classes, will not be halted once the portal begins offering duplicate services.

While some other university portals have advertising, there will be none on CSU, Chico's, though some links from the portal to Campus Pipeline may lead to pages with advertising.

"The portal is a very exciting concept, as it will bring together personalized information for all members of the campus community from a single sign-on," said Bill Post, CSU, Chico chief technology officer.

Post said the administrative services available to portal users, such as students registering for classes or faculty posting grades, will make using the portal extremely attractive.

"Many commercial portals are known for personalized news, entertainment and information. The campus portal will have those features, plus it will provide simple and useful access to learning systems and academic administrative services," Post said.