The Rotman Commerce Portal is an online database or intranet only available exclusively to Rotman Commerce members. This includes Rotman Commerce undergraduates and alumni. That being said, there are three types to this Portal: one for first years, one for undergraduates from year 2 to year 4, and one for alumni. This online information system provides students with daily updates, information, and exclusive Rotman Commerce resources and services. Examples of some information presented on the site include featured job postings, upcoming events and workshops, and unscheduled interviews. The Portal is an easy tool for students to use in order to stay connected and informed about the program they are in and what it has to offer. You can access it from the links in the description posted at the bottom or by just typing in Rotman commerce portal into a search engine.

The Rotman Commerce Portal is only available to those who are given a username and password. First year students are sent out their usernames and passwords to their email accounts, the one listed in ACORN. The usernames and passwords are sent out after one is offered and has accepted their admission to the program. To log in, students must hit the “Login” button, which will lead them to enter in two fields: Username and Password. The username is the individual’s University of Toronto student number. The password is a unique ID, different for each student. Despite there being two different portals for undergraduates, as mentioned earlier, the username and password for students accepted into the Rotman Commerce program, after meeting first year requirements, stays the same as the one they were sent out in first year.

The Portal has three main sections: Academic Services, Student Life, and Career Centre. Before we discuss these three main sections, let’s discuss the homepage of the Portal, also called “Dashboard.” This homepage presents all the personalized aspects of the Portal as it displays unique information for each student. It has tabs such as “My Account” where students can see their personal information for the account such as username and password, “My Calendar” for an organized display of all events a student is registered in, and “Documents” presenting the resumes, cover letters, or other documents the student has uploaded. The other tabs on Dashboard include “Postings,” “Interviews,” “Appointments,” and “Event Registration.” These tabs present the current and past history of the events students have registered for and/or have attended.

Academic Services is one of the main sections of the Portal as it presents information about the Academic Services team and information about current updates related to the academic life of students such as scholarship information, updates about designations, and special courses offered. The tabs in Academic Services include: Your Academic Program, First Year, Course Information, International Study, Academic Resources and Support, Fees and Tuition, Scholarships and Awards, Information and Help Centre, Events, and Academic Appointments. All of the tabs, once clicked, display tabs of their own based on what information they present. Most of the tabs listed above are informative and provide information to students about the program and its specifics. One tab to pay attention to is the “Academic Appointments” as this allows students to make appointments with the Academic Services team for any questions and concerns they may have.

Career Centre is another major section of the Rotman Commerce Portal. The career centre, whether that be on Portal or in person, is the primary source for students to access all career related activities and information. Within the Portal, students are able to view job postings, sign up for workshops, research careers, network with alumni, and receive current information about the Rotman Commerce program. The tabs featured in this section are: Appointments, Events, Job Postings, Interviews, and RC Professional Resources. Most of these tabs allow students to sign up for events, interviews, and appointments.

Student Life is the final section of the Rotman Commerce Portal. It presents extra-curricular and co-curricular activities which are just as important as the aspects presented in a classroom. The Student Life page offers students the opportunity to become knowledgeable about and experience extracurricular activities, organizations, conferences, competitions, and events that better one’s Rotman Commerce experience. The following tabs are included on this page: Alumni Mentorship Program, Appointments, Events, External Conferences and Competitions, Intramurals, and Student Life eNewsletter.

The purpose of this post is to show you how to book events on Portal but before we begin let’s discuss at the four different kinds of events you can attend at Rotman Commerce:

• Career Centre events and professional development workshops are one of the most important events which will be organized throughout the year.

• Academic Services Events are the second type, most of these will be held later in the academic year, and will focus on helping first years choose the right specialist out of the four offered.

• Next we have Student Life Events – These are very diverse and range from conferences, to coffee chats with program alumni. Also, included are events on as well as off the UofT Campus.

All three of these are organized by the Rotman Commerce Program Office.

• And finally, we have events organized by the different Rotman Commerce student organizations throughout the year listed as Student Group

Alright, now let’s begin! So to register for a Student Life event, click on the Student Life tab, in the menu bar. Moving on to events, and here we see a calendar for the month, detailing all the events. The default view can be changed to either a week or just today by clicking on the week or day options. Also, if you don’t like the calendar layout, you can change it to a list layout. During the year, there will be different kinds of events, and if you’re interested in a very specific one, you can remove the others by using the filter option. Any event that you do not want to see, can be removed/added by clicking on the tick mark in the box under the event filter tab. The arrowheads above, can be used to change the month, week or day.

To register for an event: Click on the event, this takes us to the event page, which includes a description. Further details on the location, date/time, dress code and other requirements are under the aptly named Details section. If registration is required, then click on the “Register for this event” button. Some events, for example a few held by student organizations do not require registration. To know whether to register or not, check the registration requirement in the Details section.

Some events require a fee to be paid, and to register for paid events, you need to click on the Paid Events – sub-tab located under Events. Now after clicking on the Excel workshop 1 event, you will see a registration form which after you fill out, and click on next, will take you to a secure Moneris page where you can pay with a credit card.

The registration process is the same with Career Centre, Academic and Student Organization events. Remember just click on one of those four tabs, and then click on the event tab or the paid events – sub tab.

Another way to register is to click on Dashboard in the Menu bar, and click on the Register for an Event button. This shows you the four broad categories of events. After clicking on the one you are interested, you will be taken to the Event Calendar, where then you can view events.

Now that you had a glimpse of what the Rotman Commerce Portal has to offer, how to sign in, and how to do event bookings, have a go and explore Rotman Commerce Portal yourself! There are definitely other portal functions available for Rotman students as well! Although there is no specific number of times you should check the Portal, we will say that check it regularly to stay informed and updated about all the social and professional events, resources, and services offered to the Rotman Commerce community.