In Brief

We have every reason to be proud

“I do not think it’s an exaggeration to say that we are one of the most dynamic and forward-looking institutions in Quebec and in Canada.” Those are encouraging words, and they’re at the heart of a year-end message from President Claude Lajeunesse to the whole Concordia community. You can read it in full at news.concordia.ca.


Appointments

Jonathan Levinson has been appointed Chief of Staff to President Claude Lajeunesse. He has been in the position on an interim basis since February. A lawyer, he came to Concordia as Assistant General Counsel in April 2006.

Michel Robitaille has been appointed Director, IT Strategies and Operations, in the Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science. He comes to the post from the Université de Montréal.



Every 1 came through

Community Campaign Co-Chairs Irvin Dudeck and Catherine Mulligan congratulate all the contributors and volunteers who helped out with this year's successful campaign. Our commitment to Concordia enabled us to surpass our goal of $180,000.


Shuffling pays

The Shuffle committee is gearing up for the 18th annual walkathon and has set the date for Sept. 28 at 1 p.m. Those of you who Shuffled the last two years will be pleased to learn that more than $100,000 was recently transferred to the Financial Aid & Awards Office.


JMSB grads inducted into BGS

Every year, the top graduating students of the JMSB are inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma honour society. Their achievement will be celebrated at a reception June 21 in the D.B. Clarke Theatre. For a list of the students, please go to www.johnmolson.concordia.ca.


Students check grades on phones

Concordia University has come a long way since CARL, the Concordia Automated Response Line, was used to verify grades and course schedules. As of seven weeks ago, students began reaching for their beloved cellular phones to check in on grades and class schedules. To date, over 2,100 grades have been accessed via this new messaging service, with usage expected to explode as the fall semester approaches and students check their schedules.

Users can personalize their messaging settings through the MyConcordia portal. Cancelled classes, account balances and exam schedules are sent directly to their handheld device. Andrew McAusland, Associate Vice-President, IITS, noted that messaging options will increase to include options ranging from shuttle bus schedules to the day’s cafeteria menu.

“Undergraduate students entering the university were born in 1988. Expectations have increased tremendously, and it is vital that we deliver these critical services in the most efficient way,” he said.
Concordia’s messaging service will also be capable of sending emergency notifications to students within minutes.


Voice-mail in your inbox

Accessing voice-mail at Concordia just got a lot easier. With the university’s ongoing replacement of the old voice-mail system to Cisco Unity, which began last month, users will be able to receive their messages from their email and listen to them from their computer. Other options will include the ability to “undelete” messages even after you’ve hung up the phone, as well as configuring features through a web page.

Concordia staff and faculty who often work from home or on the road will notice convenient new functions which include having the system call them at a specified phone number (i.e., cell phone) when receiving new voice-mail. This option can even be set so users are only notified when the call is designated as urgent.

Pre-setting vacation messages, as well as times users would like to be notified of urgent messages, are all a part of the new Cisco Unity package. Users will even have the choice of setting their phone so callers can press a special key to transfer their call to a designated number.

“This option is especially useful when your job duties mean you need to be reachable in an urgent circumstance,” said Mike Babin, Assistant Director, Communications, IITS. “You can have the calls transferred to your cell phone, home phone, or even your assistant.”

The switchover to Cisco Unity will be completed the end of June, at which point the old system will be turned off. Please email unity@support.concordia.ca with any questions.


Upgrade for Moodle

This fall, faculty and students will notice a sleek new design for Moodle, Concordia’s course website system. The makeover will be released in conjunction with an upgrade to the latest version of Moodle, including improvements to the Assignment, Lesson, Quiz and Wiki modules. The Roles assignment feature will offer increased usability and flexibility, including additional options. The ability to switch page views will also be improved.

The 2006-07 academic year saw over 1,500 Moodle course sites, a figure which has more than doubled since the system’s inception in 2005-06. Barbara Cree, Manager, Web Development & Publications, IITS, noted that not only has the number of courses increased, but so has the usage (hits per day).

“The way professors are using Moodle is really changing,” said Cree. “Whereas many users started out using only the more basic functions, they are now taking advantage of more features, like the Quizzes and Forums.”

Moodle courses will automatically be created for all Fall 2007-08 courses. To access a course, simply click on “My Moodle Courses” from the MyConcordia portal. Please e-mail ccw-support@concordia.ca with any questions.