Western Carolina University served as the design development site for the Prospective Student Portal in the summer of 2000, under the supervision of PricewaterhouseCoopers consultants and with design assistance from UNC Wilmington and technical assistance from Appalachian State University. The implementation and construction phase of the project began in the Spring 2001, and the portal will be beta-tested at Western Carolina in the Fall 2001. The PSP is the first pure development activity undertaken by the UNC Shared Services Alliance.