Published: August 07, 2008 09:07 am      

RLC improves online services for students

By KANDACE MCCOY

kandace.mccoy@register-news.com

INA — Rend Lake College students will now have access to a new Web portal designed to provide easier access and navigation to student records and Blackboard, an online education platform used by instructors to incorporate classroom material and lecture.

The enhancement, called “MyRLC,” streamlines these two areas “heavily accessed” by students, as well as introduces a new feature, Warrior Mail.

“As technology moves forward, a lot more things are online. They want to go to one place with one access account,” said RLC Vice President of Information Technology Salah Shakir. “MyRLC is an easy and simple portal for students. Basically, we have put everything in one place for easy accessibility and navigation, and to keep consistency within the site ... especially those areas our students are frequently using.”

One purpose of the development of the new web portal is to strengthen the connection between current RLC students and alumni, said Nathan Wheeler, assistant director of marketing and public information at the college. “As [alumni] go through their careers, they may find reason to access transcripts and college schedules,” he noted, explaining that many alumni may register for other classes pertaining to their career. “We want our site to be easier to navigate for students.”

Recently, Southern Illinois University resolved issues with students having multiple online IDs by creating “Dawg ID,” according to Shakir. MyRLC, he stated, serves the same purpose. Prior to the creation of MyRLC students would go to their records and Blackboard account through separate areas of the college Web site, he added, and now they can access both areas through the new Web portal. Shakir stated that future features “will enhance the MyRLC experience for students.” The first of these is the addition of Warrior Mail.

“It’s a combination between Google and RLC,” Shakir explained. “Students can keep it active after they graduate and continue to use it into their careers. Warrior Mail, combined with FaceBook, would be a good combination for alumni to stay connected with colleagues, classmates and future RLC students.”

With Warrior Mail, students can e-mail, chat, add photos and benefit from the many Google-based services offered, the college states. Terry Roedl, RLC Director of Information Technology, explained each student's Warrior Mail page will feature the college seal and the Warrior Mail logo. Also, because rlc.edu appears in the address, “this is a valid educational e-mail address,” he said.

In the past, the college has experienced bandwidth problems due to students accessing sites such as MySpace. However, Roedl noted that since WarriorMail will run off the Google server, the college won’t have to support the hardware, software or bandwidth for Warrior Mail.

Future modifications to the RLC Web portal will also allow students to add more individual preferences and personalize their MyRLC. “Every student will have their own website, basically,” Shakir said. “But, that is in the future.”

For more information about MyRLC, you may contact the RLC Counseling Center at 437-5321, Ext. 1266 or Student Records at Ext. 1230.