Beginning this spring, Bradley University has opened up the faculty newsletter, B-News, to students, who will now receive the bulletin every Monday and Thursday.
Right now, B-News consists primarily of university updates, sponsored events and other important messages. There are plans in progress to work with Student Activities to bring student organizations and club announcements, like meeting times and special events, to the program.
Hilltop Happenings, the previous student news platform, was used by students for these event announcements, and since its departure, social media has handled this responsibility. Students were almost immediately in an uproar, feeling confused as to why an important and useful program was discontinued.
Now, B-News is a great opportunity for the university to reintroduce student news into its own ecosystem, and Bradley seems committed to doing so. They have also stated that they are working with Student Activities to launch a new group in Be Connected.
The newsletter will soon be integrated into the new student portal Be Connected, hopefully allowing students to find all the information they need in one spot. As long as these programs can be integrated into each other effectively, there is a chance for big strides toward unifying campus systems, something students have been wanting for quite some time.
As we put MyBradley to rest, Be Connected will have the additional benefit of being an app.
Be Connected and B-News are proof that Bradley’s administration does listen to students — sometimes. In time, hopefully both concepts will blossom and become a beneficial, easy-to-navigate way for students to access important information and updates.