Hopefully you are aware by now that SJU’s new information portal, The Nest, will debut this coming Monday, March 17. While we are excited about many of the new features The Nest contains, there is one that we think stands out and warrants some attention of its own.

Making its debut with The Nest is a new online classifieds system called NestList, where SJU students, faculty, and employees can view and post advertisements on a number of topics ranging from housing opportunities to lost & found items. NestList will replace the current Campus Announcements section of MySJU and offer a much more modern, robust experience than is currently available.

There are three features of NestList that makes this possible: 1) categorization of ads, 2) better formatting of content, and 3) the ability to include images.

The categorization of ads will make it possible for readers to quickly find and read the items that are of interest to them instead of scrolling through a long list of unorganized posts.

Like a familiar word processing program, NestList’s editor enables posters to easily format content, making it more appealing and easier to read.

In addition to enhanced written content, posters can now include an image. So, if you want to show off your apartment to potential roommates, you can.

As mentioned, NestList will replace the Campus Announcements feature currently on MySJU. All of the announcements currently in Campus Announcements will be moved to NestList and the channel in MySJU will be replaced with two channels, NestList and University Announcements, on Monday, March 17. The new University Announcements channel, which will also be in the Nest, will contain special university-wide announcements, typically posted by the President’s Office or the Office of Public Safety and Security.

It is important to note that NestList will only be available to SJU students, faculty, and employees. No outside constituents will be able to post or view anything on NestList. Also, event notices will not be included in NestList; all such notices should be posted to the University Events Calendar.

We also expect that NestList will restore some of the functionality that was previously available to faculty and staff through the fyi@sju.edu e-mail alias. Offices with items they want to make available to campus, items they are looking for, or non-event announcements they’d like to make can post to NestList.

So, on Monday, be sure to check out NestList when you experience The Nest for the first time.