Registration and Records activated the MyPack Portal on the N.C. State Web site yesterday.

Students and faculty can now access personal, educational and financial information through mypack.ncsu.edu.

Michelle Johnson, associate registrar for registration and records, said the portal has been open to faculty since July, and the student section has just been added.

Johnson said students will now be able to add cell phone numbers and emergency contact information to their profiles. She said there will be an update on the student finance pages on Oct. 22.

She said after that date, there will be a new financial aid section to the portal page.

Johnson said that after Hurricane Katrina and the Virginia Tech shootings, the University is taking precautions, including obtaining emergency contacts of students.

According to Johnson, the MyPack Portal will consolidate Pack Tracks and the new Student Information System into one quick access page. She said there is also an easier way to check Webmail and a new quick link to WebCT.

Nicole Wood, training and communications coordinator for registration and records, said that they received a lot of complaints from faculty about having to use multiple log-ins and passwords to access information on the Web site, and the portal will aid this.

“Students who are also employees of the University can do student and employee business on the same page,” Wood said.

According to Johnson, the new SIS consolidates this information into a “one-stop place for information and resources for the N.C. State community.”

Johnson said with links to degree audits, academic records, financial information, Housing, Transportation and other resources, the MyPack Portal will make navigating the Web site much easier. She said while there are links to all these resources on the portal page, not all of these have been changed.

“This is just the tip of it,” she said.

According to Johnson, as they are moving to the new SIS, aspects of the Web site will be updated and changed over the next year and a half. However, she said because of the consolidation of links, it will be “seamless.” When a student clicks on something, it could lead to the Pack Tracks site or the SIS site, depending on whether it’s been changed or not. But Johnson said it will not affect use of the Web site, as the changes will be subtle.

Wood said an admissions link, one new feature, may not affect current students. Prospective students can use the portal to add information about themselves and keep up with the application process, she said.

Some students have participated in trials of the SIS, including Jeffrey Cooke, a sophomore in civil engineering.

“It is an easy way to gain access to resources that N.C. State offers,” Cooke said.

One aspect of the SIS that will require a change for students is the new password system.

Wood said there are stricter rules for creating passwords to make them safer. But, she said, students should not have a hard time.

“If they are confused when they have to change it, there are instructions that explain everything,” she said.