Thomas Celles

Reporter

This semester, the Department of Student Activities and Organizations started the transition from Orgsync to a new platform called Purple Portal.

Orgsync has been a staple of student organizations at Northwestern State for the last decade. Organizations used the platform for everything, from event planning and rosters to polls and storage space.

Yonna Pasch, director of student activities and organizations, said the benefits offered by Purple Portal were more in line with what is needed by the department.

“It’s a simpler process for the organization’s side of it,” Pasch said. “We realized with Orgsync that for the last ten years, several things were not really where they needed to be.”

Senior Sarahjane Ladut said she’s glad things are being switched up.

“While Orgsync has been useful to the organizations I’m in over the last few years, there definitely is room for improvement,” Ladut said. “I’m looking forward to using a more straightforward system.”

A big factor in the decision behind the switch was the cost. Many services offered by Orgsync went unused by some organizations. However, the Department of Student Activities and Organizations was still paying for those services.

One of the biggest changes between the two systems is the opportunity to look at real-time data. Orgsync often would take weeks to deliver data back to the university. With Purple Portal, data on events is available within 24 hours, which Pasch said is vital for assessment.

Senior Aron Stephens is relatively indifferent to the swap.

“Orgsync was a fine platform to see what organizations the campus had to offer, but there are better avenues of communication and organization,” Stephens said.

While integration is currently underway, Pasch said she expects it won’t be complete until the start of next semester.