Portal, the visually bare-bones Web site housing students’ enrollment information, grades and other Biola data, will be history in April.

Replacing it will be a system called Banner, which already is being used to support many Metzger operations, said John Tuttle, director of student communication, in a press release. The launch will come in two phases: one in April and another next semester.

Beginning April 1, students must go to http://my.biola.edu and login using their NetID to access the records once held by Portal. Most of the tools and functions from Portal will be preserved in the new system, said Tuttle, but many will be new. In addition to the university news that displays on Portal, my.Biola will also display personalized content such as announcements related to the student’s dorm, major or club.

Even more new content will be introduced in fall 2010. Banner’s “groupware” feature will replace the BUBBS conferences. Students will also have access to an online housing sign-up system.

Tuttle compared my.Biola to iGoogle, which allows users to customize their own Internet home page with widgets and other Google tools. Users of my.Biola, likewise, will have a customizable page that will include a calendar, announcements, RSS feeds and a link to their Blackboard account.

The replacement of Portal is the final stage of IT’s effort to replace all the campus’s underlying operational software, Tuttle said. Systems used by the registrar, accounting, human resources, financial aid and admissions have all been affected by the changes.