NYUHome is going global with the integration of Global Home — a new software portal — at the end of this year, according to NYU administration.

Director of Digital Communications Jim Robertson said that the project, which launched in 2014 and was made available to NYU IT in 2015, can now be accessed by everyone. He said that Global Home is designed to be mobile-friendly, searchable and more interactive than the previous interface. It will provide a way for members of the NYU community to fill out a profile that introduces themselves to others on the portal.

“NYUHome was showing its age — both the user interface and the code behind it,” Robertson said. “Over time, we plan to make key NYU interactions simpler and faster within Global Home. We also plan to expand the functionality of the profiles section to make it easier to find and connect with others at NYU.”

Robertson said that on NYUHome, students had to remember where certain features were placed. Global Home, however, provides a way to quickly view NYU Email, Drive and Calendar.

“There are plans to integrate NYU CareerNet into Global Home in the near future,” Robertson said. “We will continue to look for opportunities to add other integrations where appropriate and make improvements to the ones already there.”

Robertson said that students and faculty have been involved in ongoing testing groups, and many of them have responded positively to Global Home.

NYU Tandon graduate student Shreyas Puttaraju believes that tools like the tab that provides access to faculty could be a powerful tool for students to rate, preview and post feedback on professors and courses. As far as the profile feature, however, Puttaraju said that he is not convinced of its usefulness.

“It’s mostly a casual description of a students’ interests and hobbies,” Puttaraju said. “It’s a great feature if you are a stalker.”

GSAS graduate student Vinit Jasoliya, a student employee at the NYU IT department, said that as a user interface designer he fully supports the impending changes. He said that all the new elements in the system will enhance the user experience.

“NYU Global Home provides a more personal user interface and experience, which lacked in the old NYUHome,” Jasoliya said. “The enhanced way to connect with fellow NYU members and get services is an improvement since the last version.”

Jasoliya said that Global Home is simple to operate and that the transition has been seamless. He thinks a quick video tour outlining the location of the new services will suffice for acclimating students to the new interface.

Puttaraju said he tested the new page to review the changes and said he prefers NYU Global Home.

“It has a look that is immediately refreshing and pleasing to the eye, as compared to the previous version, which looked like a dinosaur version of a home page,” Puttaraju said. “I like the tab that allows you to switch between services and people.”

Email Sanjukta Phadke at [email protected]