UCOP Launches New Website for Employees, Retirees
January 22, 2014
On Feb. 6, the UC Office of the President launches a new website designed to make life easier for faculty and staff members and retirees.
The new site, called UCnet, is the fruit of more than two years of development by UCOP’s communications team and is part of a broader strategic initiative to improve the university’s websites.
UCnet (ucnet.universityofcalifornia.edu) is meant to make it simpler for employees and retirees to keep up with what’s happening at UC, find information about benefits and policies and quickly access personal accounts. It’s also designed to allow users to learn about and engage with colleagues around the system and build a stronger sense of community.
UCnet will replace At Your Service as the source of information about benefits and the portal to At Your Service Online and Fidelity retirement accounts. At Your Service Online, the password-protected portal that employees use to access their personal pay and benefits information, will still exist. UCnet will also offer timely news about UC and a wide array of tools and resources such as a gateway to systemwide data and interest groups.
“UCnet is designed to be a source of news and a home for resources and transactions for UC employees and retirees,” said Paul Schwartz, UC’s director of internal communications. “Our goal was to give employees and retirees a site that makes it easy to get information, conduct personal business and stay connected with the UC community.”
UCnet is one of three new websites created by UCOP communications in the past year to improve university information and resources offered online. The other two are ucop.edu, which launched last year, and UCal, a site for prospective students, parents and other external audiences.
UCnet is organized into five sections, each with it’s own distinct focus. The home page, where most readers will start, will serve as UCnet’s “front page,” containing top news about what’s going at UC, a sampling of top items from other sections of UCnet and links to other important parts of the site.
The news section offers visitors news stories about the university. It will be organized around five categories including administration, employment and people. All in all, UCnet’s news section offers a richer selection of news about UC than At Your Service. The section will also have a frequently updated “UC in the news” section containing some of the best and most interesting items about UC from news outlets around the world.
The working at UC section is a window into the diverse and fascinating community of university employees. There will be in-depth stories about faculty and staff members, opportunities to connect with people at other campuses and links to campus websites around the system. The section will also contain information about how staff can develop their careers, how to manage work-life balance and other career-related resources.
Compensation and benefits is the section for users who want information about pay, benefits, how to handle life events and other employment- or retirement-related matters. The section contains comprehensive ‘roadmaps’ to guide employees through events like having a baby, changing jobs within UC or preparing for retirement.
Last, the tools-and-services section is the go-to page when searching for a policy, data tools or information about UC’s libraries. The section also features details on travel services, publishing, research grants and wellness and safety on the job.
