The start of the school year brings thousands of new faces to campus, both students and staff — many of which will face problems setting up and connecting technology.

This year, Iowa State’s Information Technology department has created a new website that will enable new students and staff to quickly and easily get setup to begin their new adventure.

The website, located online at newtoisu.it.iastate.edu, is live for students and staff who need help configuring their devices.

“The IT communications team created the ‘New to ISU’ site to welcome and orient new students, faculty and staff to ISU and help them understand technology here,” said Dan Ryan, director of communications and marketing for IT. “It is an easy way to pull together all those things that people need to access when they arrive on campus.”

The website has information for new students, faculty and staff on how to log in and set up email, where computer labs are located, where printing is available and how to set up benefits for staff members.

“This site is one example of how IT is a resource to ISU students. We want students to think of IT as a resource for security, technical help with software and hardware, computer repair and up-to-date technology information,” Ryan said.

A lot of work has been put into learning what is most important to include in the site.

“A challenging thing was content,” said Elizabeth Krugler, a graduate student in journalism and mass communication who worked with Ryan and his team on developing the site.

The creators consulted the solutions center and received feedback from students, faculty and staff on what they often have the most problems with. This in turn provided ideas on what to include on the site.

Jim Kurtenbach, chief information officer at Iowa State, said the website is part of his focus on the “continuous improvement of technology” at Iowa State. The website is an example of a communication device between IT and students and staff and is part of one of Kurtenbach’s goal of improving customer success at Iowa State.

“Technology should be a tool everyone can use,” Kurtenbach said.

The ultimate goal of the website is to make the transition to Iowa State easier for everyone, and ITS wants feedback on the new site.

“We are promoting the site extensively on campus and will soon be surveying students for their feedback on the site,” Ryan said.

Students and faculty who have used the site can share feedback by emailing [email protected] or submitting feedback through social media. IT’s Twitter is @isuits (twitter.com/isuits) and its Facebook page is available at www.facebook.com/isuits.