xiaodong eric li webmaster control vs. freedom balancing editorial freedom and site-wide consistency...
DESCRIPTION
WCJC FacultyWeb Site First built in 2004 To supplement the college's teaching and learning activitiesTRANSCRIPT
Xiaodong “Eric” LiWebmaster
Control vs. FreedomBalancing Editorial Freedom and
Site-wide Consistency in a Faculty Website
Wharton County Junior College
• 2 year community college• 7400+ students• 4 campuses• 163 full-time instructors • 139 part-time instructors• 3 websites:
• WCJC Main Website: www.wcjc.edu• WCJC FacutlyWeb Site: facultyweb.wcjc.edu• WCJC Intranet Site: www3.wcjc.edu
WCJC FacultyWeb Site
• First built in 2004
• To supplement the college's teaching and learning activities
Challenges• Inconsistent web presence • Non-standard information• Bad navigation • FrontPage editor hard to use and
no longer supported• Limited staffing available for
training and support• Web page content not updated in
a timely manner• Need to ensure full compliance
with Web Accessibility Laws and Standards, such as ADA, Section 508 and WCAG
Inconsistent web presence ……
plus non-standard information and bad navigation …… have made the WCJC faculty web pages look both unprofessional and unappealing.
How to balance editorial freedom and site-wide consistency?
Our solution:
Content Management System
(CMS)
What is a CMS
• Helps you manage website content
• No HTML knowledge required for content contributors
• Easily defined workflow
• Keeps content accurate and current
Leading CMS in Higher Ed• 700+ college and university websites• 11+ million web pages updated• 2012 University Business top product
Designed for Colleges & Universities• Simple for users, yet powerful for administrators• Extensible for developers through APIs • Exceptional training and support• Social media integration and mobile website• Course catalogs, faculty directories, calendars
• Easy to use and easy to learn• Template based – ensure consistent
web presence• WYSIWYG (What-You-See-Is-What-You-
Get) editor• No HTML knowledge required• Browser-based environment• Workflow and approval process• Wonderful support (fully supported)• Accessibility compliance
Implementation: Template Design
One standardized faculty profile template
Non-editable Data Regions (controlled by administrator)• Faculty portraits (pulled from Image Folder)• Contact information (pulled from Employee Database)
Editable Data Regions (inputted by user)• Brief Bio• Office hours• Education• Courses taught• Areas of interest• Links
Non-editable Data Regions
Editable Data Regions
Local Navigation
Editable Fields for Administrator
Editable Fields for User
New WCJC FacultyWeb Site• facultyweb.wcjc.edu• Powered by OmniUpdate’s OU Campus CMS• Launched in January 2013• Content migration• Training and tutorials
Benefits• Keeps the WCJC faculty web pages
appearance consistent and professional• Enhances website branding while
simultaneously granting faculty the academic freedom to build their own web-based teaching tools
• Satisfies the accessibility requirements• Reduces man hours and staff cost on training
and support• Improves user satisfaction
Before
After
SummaryResults of our CMS • Balanced non-editable, standardized
information with editable, personalized content
• Improved website appeal for students and faculty
• Simplified website navigation• Provided a consistent experience for website
visitors
