Information Technology and Services

The Division of Students Affairs (DSA) is a community of 26 departments on campus that supports the total student experience. Student Affairs has recently begun to use the web-based tool, SharePoint, to centralize its communications. Larry Quaglia, director of Technical Services for the division, and his team have been building an intranet within SharePoint in stages.  

In fall 2011, the division formally introduced the first phase of the project when it announced "The Commons," a weekly internal communications tool. Each week, Jill Ouikahilo, director of communications for the division, updates the home page of the SharePoint site with divisional news, including staff changes and highlights, programs and events, professional development opportunities, student news or spotlights, interesting local or national stories, and more. The intention behind creating The Commons is to have a centralized location where DSA staff members can build relationships, share information and come together. Even though this could potentially have been accomplished using various social media channels, it made sense to utilize one tool for these needs and build consistent practice for communicating. The next phase in using SharePoint for the division, and a critical one, will be to enhance the work of divisional committees.

Another impetus in using SharePoint as the internal communications tool was to have a secure, private platform where Tom Wolfe, senior vice president and dean of Student Affairs, could communicate with the division through a weekly video message. Each week, Dean Wolfe records a one- to two-minute video message that nurtures the mission, vision, values, and guiding principles of the division, as well as addresses any current events or broader questions to reflect upon as Student Affairs' professionals.

As mentioned above, the next phase in using SharePoint will be for the various committees within the division to have a centralized location to store content, track meetings and deadlines, and exchange ideas. This has already begun to happen, though a more formal rollout of this use will take place next semester.