The editorial published on August 31 titled, “Zzusis not nearly as cool as Zeus” regarding concerns about the information available through the zzusis Portal is a reminder that input and feedback on this project are important and appreciated. 

A project of this magnitude and scope provides an opportunity to make changes to existing systems that have been in place for many years. The zzusis technical team, Information Services Security Office and other offices on campus are reviewing information as it is currently presented in zzusis and removing or masking those items deemed sensitive.

Maintaining student, faculty and staff information in a secure environment is a priority for this project and WSU. Many changes, most of them behind the scenes, have already been put in place to better secure sensitive information and limit the number of WSU individuals that have access to this information within zzusis. 

We recognize more work is still needed and that process is ongoing. The zzusis Project covers many modules within the student systems and is being implemented in phases. This means as modules are implemented, they will build upon the previous module and with each module more functionality, and in many cases higher security, will be available. 

Currently two modules, the zzusis Portal—replacing myWSU—and Campus Community, have “gone live” or been implemented. The Admissions module is being implemented in a phased approach and is expected to be fully functional in mid-September to be followed in October by Curriculum Management, which is a part of the Student Records module.

Throughout the project as each module is implemented there are times when an opportunity to improve is made available. This is one of those occasions.

In response to the editorial it is important to note the following:

–When the Student Records module is rolled out in spring 2012, students will have an improved functional view of their schedules.

–The student finance page has a fixed display location in the left column, and for most, it should be the third box.  It displays “Tuition, Fees & Other Charges,” “Housing & Dining” and “WSU Student Loan Balance.”

–Masking of individual’s birth year and the first five digits of the Social Security number are being put into production. It should be noted that driver’s license numbers are not collected nor stored by WSU, and this field has been removed.

–Information pertaining to banking and direct deposits is maintained by the Payroll Office. The zzusis technical team and security office are working in collaboration with Payroll to display appropriate levels of information in zzusis.

–Through the zzusis Portal, individual users only have access to their own personal information. At no time were people authorized to see the information of others. Users must always log out of zzusis by clicking the “Sign Out” button or by closing the entire browser and all browser windows, not just the browser tab that zzusis was in, to close the session. 

–The zzusis portal was implemented with both a time-out feature, effectively closing the session if it is idle for a set period, and a “Sign Out” button—features that were not available in the previous myWSU portal.

The zzusis Project is a monumental undertaking for the university and staff working on the implementation, and it is not without challenges. The zzusis project is replacing many systems that are aging and are no longer maintainable—many 30 or more years old. 

The project is still developing and will continue to evolve and improve overtime  To make the best possible product available to the end-users ongoing feedback is appreciated and encouraged and can be submitted via zzusis.feedback@wsu.edu.