Students explore LU Insider on the Lawrence website.
Photo by Emily Midyette
LU Insider was just launched this September at the start of Fall Term. It is a brand new forum that provides information about campus, updated weekly on Thursday mornings. This new tool, found in the top left-hand corner of the Lawrence homepage, was a joint effort by the Office of Communications and Technology Services.
“A reason behind it is to help limit mass emails,” said writer and editor Tom Ziemer, one of the overseers of the forum. “There was also a need for inter-communications through the campus, for things to be [in] one spot. We hope it can be a permanent home for things because it is archivable.”
It has two different ways to sort the posts. There are four tabs sorted by audience: all, student, faculty and staff. Some things are restricted to just students or just staff.
The second way to sort posts is by categories, or topic of the post, which right now are Alumni and Constituency Engagement, Career Services, Communications, Human Resources, Library and Media Center, Provost’s Office, Staff Connections and Student Life. There is also a search tab, in case you are looking for something specific or past posts.
It might not stay this way throughout the entire term. It is subject to change, as Communications and Technology Services come up with new ideas to improve it.
It is also password protected. You have to log into your LU account to access it. Ziemer explained that “it’s not really that it’s sensitive info, but it’s more intercampus related.”
Not just anyone can post. Only certain people are allowed to for each category mentioned. Students are not allowed to post on the forum. It is not a conversation, but more of an information center.
There are emails about it sent every Thursday, when it has been updated, to remind you that it is out there.
However, it does not take away the importance of emails, nor does it replace the News Blog or the event calendar, also found on the homepage. LU Insider is more for specific campus things, like fundraisers or job opportunities that Career Services posts, so check it out to be sure not to miss anything.