Students will soon be able to use their PAWS account to get the latest information on their student organizations in addition to information about their classes.
Student Government is working with the Office of Computing Services to give each student organization a semester book application for each of its members.
Guy Pyrzak, SG director of information technology, said the SG administration has worked for the past year to implement the application.
Every student organization member will have his own link to his organization’s semester book under a new student life link.
Pyrzak said each application will be made from the same template, but will be customized to give each organization a personalized application.
Under the application, each organization will have access to six different tools: members, resources, communication, calendar, question and answers and public.
The resources tool allows the organization to post anything such as minutes and agendas. This tool also includes a place to post images and create a photo gallery.
Under the communication tool, organizations can create discussions, send e-mails and read comments posted by the public on a public Web site provided by the application. The discussion tool acts as a bulletin board for members to post comments. The e-mail resource allows members to send broadcast e-mails within the organization.
Comments posted through the public Web site created using the public tool also can be viewed by members through the communication tool.
Any information posted by the organization using the public and the question and answer tools can be viewed on the public Web site. The Web site is automatically updated when a new item is posted. The application also gives each organization its own e-mail address for public use.
Pyrzak said the application will allow organizations to be more organized.
“It gives not only a way to organize your own stuff, but it gives a public Web page for the public to view,” Pyrzak said. “It is useful for people who don’t know how to build a Web site.”
SG currently is using the application, and Pyrzak said it finds the application useful for posting their minutes and agendas.
Amanda Sadat, president of the Union Program Council and the Union Governing Board, said the application would be useful for the UPC because there are so many separate organizations under the council itself.
“It will help us be more organized even though we have a staff and a counselor who oversees and helps us,” Sadat said.
Pyrzak said the Ambassadors and the Black Student Union started working with SG to get the application running.
The application still is being tested and worked on Pyrzak said. Though each organization will have a slightly customized Web page, they can work with the Office of Computing Services to produce a more graphically intensive Web site or add special features.
Any organization that wants information on the semester book application can contact the SG office at 578-8727.