MyUSF gets a makeover

The new MyUSF service will be available for use by faculty, staff and students Wednesday after several months of development. 

This change will introduce the third look for the MyUSF website in about as many years. The third iteration will bring the site “more in line with the university brand,” USF Director of Information Technology Christopher Akin said. 

The new system is designed to be more aesthetically appealing as well as provide a more user-friendly experience, according to Akin. One problem that the new site will solve, he said, is mobile viewing. 

“It should look much better on your cell phone,” he said. “There should be what’s called a responsive design, and so it will be readable on your cell phone, whereas the current site, not so much.”

The site will also differ in format in terms of clarity and ease of use.

“We’ve paid attention to some of the feedback we’ve received on readability and navigation and we’ve tried to improve on that as well,” Akin said. 

The old service relied on the user knowing where to go and, more importantly, what information he was looking for. The upgrade is anticipated to make the information students are searching for easy to access and diminish potential headaches with using the service. 

Any software launch has potential issues and concerns that can inconvenience the user. According to Akin, the expected amount of downtime is minimal. 

“We’re really only expecting a couple of minutes of downtime,” Akin said. “We’re going to run the current site, and this new site is completely separate, so we’ll just switch over to it when the time comes … So we’re not expecting any downtime.” 

The new site is set to go up between June 17-19.

— Additional reporting by Grace Hoyte