By Josh Dover
Staff Writer
When students head back to classes after Spring Break they can expect a new look to PepXpress, Pepperdine’s campus network software.
The system is scheduled to receive a major upgrade on Feb. 25.
Upgraded components will include public and private group pages, where student groups can hold message boards or chats, a new public access calendar, new password options and a fully integrated Blackboard system.
Students will no longer have to log on to two different systems to check e-mail and check courses on Blackboard.
The Blackboard system will still be accessible without the PepXpress interface, however.
The new version of PepXpress will attempt to establish an online forum for students to communicate with each other about issues they face on campus.
Campus Pipeline, the Salt Lake City company that created PepXpress, first brought the idea of the Pepperdine network to the campus in spring 2000.
The system has worked well for the university, simplifying once complicated processes like registration and online communication.
“It’s my main source for e-mail,” sophomore Ken Nguyen said. “I’m glad they are redoing the format.”
Pepperdine University is one of more than 100 schools in the country currently using the Campus Pipeline Web platform, including the University of Idaho, Hawaii Pacific University and Western Washington University.
“We are one of the leading schools in the nation,” said Dan Kelo, manager of the Campus Pipeline project. “We have one of the most sophisticated networks … (Campus Pipeline) has really seemed to listen to Pepperdine. A lot of the changes have come from our input.”
Perhaps the greatest component change will be PepXpress’s ability to allow each of the Pepperdine schools to choose the look and options available of their platform.
For example, students at Seaver College will have information about on campus events, pictures and information directed at undergraduate students.
Each of the other four schools will have their own platform as well directed to their particular needs.
This isn’t the final upgrade that PepXpress will see in the future, either.
“Major changes can be looked forward to in the future,” Kelo said. “Users will be able to fully choose what they would like their page to look like and what channels they want.”
Since e-mail and Internet surfing seems to be a way of life for the majority of students, this facelift for PepXpress looks to make virtual world a little more user friendly for everybody.
February 21, 2002
