Technically, the Directory is well designed and provides an easy interface to make different searches. Yet, the information in the Directory is inherited from an antiquated text based data system that has been run for years by the Human Resources Office. This makes the current value and accuracy of some individual's information outdated, hereby limiting its potential usefulness.

The designers of the Directory provided a very simple and easy way for the faculty to update their individual entries in the system.

The modifiable information in the Directory falls in two categories:

1. research/educational expertise
2. clinical specialization

Each of these categories has two sections:

1. keywords (up to 1000 characters or 150 words)
2. description (up to 2000 characters or 300 words)

In this information system there is no controlled (pre-defined) search vocabulary. This makes it possible to enter any information into each of the two sections. Therefore, you may give a good narrative description of your interests and qualifications.

In summary, you simply have to complete two sections in each of the two categories to describe your expertise in about 300 words each. You will need to prepare four blocks of text:

1. research/educational expertise keywords - 150 words /1000 characters
2. research/educational expertise description - 300 words/ 2000 characters
3. clinical specialization keywords - 150 words/ 1000 characters
4. clinical specialization description - 300 words/ 2000 characters

Keywords and description are simply conditional names of the blocks and you may use the space for any reasonable contents. Remember to consider the potential readers of your description: :

1. patients and non-MCV physicians
2. VCU administration and your colleagues
3. external organizations like NIH, HCFA, etc.
4. private industry such as pharmaceutical, biotechnology, insurance etc.

You may prepare your updated entry using MS Word or WordPerfect.

To check the size of a text block, you need to select the block and then click on File/Properties in the word processor menu. The word processor will show for the selected block the number of characters and words.

After you have prepared your update, click on the button placed on this page below and you will jump to your individual Update Form web page. This page is securely protected with your eID credentials.

When on the Update Form web page, select the content of a block from your open text processor (MS Word or WordPerfect), click copy and paste it into the corresponding box of the Update Form web page.

Having filled the four boxes of the form, click the Update button and it is done!

The phone numbers, email, and office address may be changed by logging on to Banner Self-Service via VCU Portal.