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The St. Thomas Directory service is located at https://directory.aws.stthomas.edu/.
The Directory is a public tool that lists departmental directory information (phone, email, location, etc.), student groups, important university websites (the Academic Calendar, Policy Repository, etc.), basic contact information for staff (email, department, etc.), and mailbox numbers for students. The data is pulled from a variety of sources. Some data in the Directory Database (especially department information) is used as the source-of-truth for information across campus, including in the Campus Map and OneStThomas, so it will behoove you to keep your personal and department information up-to-date, even if you personally don't use the Directory!
Because the Directory pulls information from so many sources, updating it can be a maze, because each source has to be updated its own way. This article will explain how to update any data in Directory, in this order:
- Department information
- Personal information (phone number, mailbox, etc.)
- Employee assignment
- Student club information
- Other important links
1. Department Information
You can update information about Departments (email, website, location, etc.) from the Directory itself. All St. Thomas employees are able to edit directory information for the department that employs them.
The department that employs you is determined strictly by the organization that pays your paycheck (often known by its 5-digit budget code).
To edit your department information, click Log In:
This will take you to a standard St. Thomas single-sign-in login page.
The first time you use this application, you may be prompted to give certain permissions to the Directory application. You should approve this. This is necessary for the login to succeed (it tells the Directory application your username and Outlook profile) and exposes no additional information about you.
Once you have logged in, you will find yourself on the department update page for the department that employs you:
This is, for the most part, pretty straightforward. If you change your department's phone number, delete the fax, and press "Submit Updates," your department will list a new phone number and no fax number in the public directory (and in OneStThomas and on the Campus Map).
If you department is not already listed in the Directory, this form will be almost completely blank. Adding information and submitting the updates will create a new entry for the department in the Directory. It should appear instantly after you submit your updates.
There are a couple of fields that bear further explanation:
Department Type
For purposes of the Directory, your department is an Academic department if and only if your department offers classes to the public. English (Undergraduate) is an academic department, as is English (Graduate). DFC is an academic department. The Department of Catholic Studies (which offers classes) is an academic department. Academic Counseling is not an academic department for the Directory. Neither is the Academic Dean of SOD, nor Academic Affairs, nor the ACTC. The Center for Catholic Studies (which does not offer classes) is not an academic department for the Directory.
If you put your non-academic department in the Academic department list, it may be reverted without warning.
Institutes have a broader definition. They are generally outgrowths of academic units, doing work on behalf of the public (often research work). Many of them have "Institute" or "Center" in the name.
All other departments are Administrative.
Aliases
Each department has exactly one name assigned to it in Banner. However, some departments want to be listed in the Directory under more than one name. These additional names are called "aliases."
For example, the Art History department offers a Museum Studies program. It is not a separate department, but students sometimes look for the program in the directory under "Museum Studies" instead of "Art History." So, Art History created "Museum Studies (Undergraduate)" as an alias.
Sometimes, the Banner name is not suitable for public display at all. For example, the Banner name of the Luann Dummer Center for Women is the "Dummer Womens Center" [sic], which is not how the LDCW wants to present itself to the world. They have marked the checkbox to "Hide Banner Name." This hides the department's Banner name from the Directory completely. The "Luann Dummer Center for Women" is their department's alias, and it replaces the Banner name. If you select Hide Banner Name but have no aliases, your department will disappear from the Directory altogether!
Submit Updates
When you've made all the updates you care to make to your department, press Submit Updates and they will go into the database! The Directory should update instantly. If you make a mistake and want to reset the form, you can press Reset and it will clear your changes, or you can simply close the page and return to it later.
2. Personal Information
Your personal information (phone number, mailbox number, etc.) all comes from Banner. You can edit it yourself through Murphy Online. Select "Personal Information," "Update Addresses and Phones," and update the information accordingly.
Personal information updates will be loaded into the Directory overnight (not instantly).
3. Employee Assignment
Employee assignments are determined strictly based on the organization that pays the employee's salary, often known by its 5-digit budget code.
From time to time, employees are surprised by their official department assignment, and sometimes disagree with them altogether! Occasionally, errors have been discovered. If you have any questions, concerns, or errors to report about your employee assignment in Directory, please email humanresources@stthomas.edu. Include the Banner budget code you're concerned about.
4. Student Club Information
Student club information is imported daily from TommieLink. Information should updated there should be reflected in Directory the following day.
5. Other Important Links
Occasionally, the Directory needs to include a link to a website that is not associated with a department or club, such as ClassFinder or the About St. Thomas page. (These appear in the Directory Websites A-Z list but not in the general department directory.)
If you have a non-department link that you believe should be included in the Directory (and it currently isn't), fill out the Directory Update Tommie Tech Services ticket, and it should be taken care of in 5 business days or less.
Need More Guidance?
If you still have questions after reading this KB article, please fill out a Directory Update Tommie Tech Services ticket, or leave a comment. (I, Jamie Heaney, the author of this article, should be notified of any comments.)