The Web Redesign Advisory Committee is taking shape

Individuals are being tapped to serve on the Web Redesign Advisory Committee. To date, membership includes:

• Ginger Ambler, Student Affairs
• Christopher Bailey, Geology
  
• Henry Broaddus, Admission
• Courtney Carpenter, IT
• John Kane, Alumni Association
  
• Bramble Klipple, Development
• Lorne Kuffel, Institutional Research
• Jack Martin, English
• Jennifer Mellor, Economics

posted by Susan Evans

It's Official

Today, Provost Geoff Feiss announced the W&M Web Redesign project. Pre-planning for re.web is officially over!

posted by Susan Evans

5 Pillars for the Web?

Perhaps discussions about W&M's web presence should include the five pillars of the College referenced by President Gene Nichol during his State of the College address in January. The five pillars are:

1. that our intimate, supportive, rigorous, engaged, dynamic, residential form of liberal-arts education is … the strongest, most affecting and likely the most pragmatic tool the academy has to offer
2. that academic excellence, intellectual achievement and the highest standards of performance, imagination and creativity inform all that we do
3. that our programs are premised on a culture that promoted deep and sustained faculty involvement in the lives, development and work of our students
4. that our high standards of instruction are leavened by a foundational and sustaining commitment to research
5. that, as the campuswide committee on diversity asserted last year, the College strives to be a place where people of all backgrounds feel at home, where diversity is actively embraced and where each individual takes responsibility for upholding the dignity of all members of the community

posted by Susan Evans

re.web's Technical Landscape Coming into Focus

Here is a summary of the technical landscape of re.web from the perspective of of February 1, 2007 (the day before Groundhog Day).

We are regularly bringing together our best web programmers and engineers to brainstorm about the web architecture and infrastructure that will be needed as we move forward. We are discussing the hardware and software implications for which IT will need to be ready.

We are also conducting prep work so that we will be in a position to provide technical expertise once the project and advisory committees are announced. Activities include:

• developing a list of features we may need in a content management system (CMS)
  


• identifying, reviewing, and evaluating products (commercial and open source)
  


• setting up test environments (servers, databases) to run some of the content management systems we are evaluating
  


• creating a list of functional tasks that those who will test the content management systems will want to try (e.g., create a web page, edit a web page, add an image)
  

We have a team working on the deployment of ClickTracks. This software analyzes W&M web logs (providing data about who clicks on what, how long they stay, etc). Time spent experimenting with ClickTracks is well spent, because the more we know about it, the better the data we'll be able to provide once the project and advisory committees begin meeting formally.

February activities on re.web will include:

• Meeting with Mike Connolly to brief him about the re.web project. Mike is the new Director of University Relations and we can benefit from his expertise.

• Drafting sections for an RFP document.

• Continuation of the technical work described above.

posted by Susan Evans

Surveying the Technical Landscape

We expect to be called upon to talk with the re.web advisory committee about solutions and products to support a W&M web redesign. We're doing a lot of looking at open source content management systems, third party products, and everything in between. Our goal is to educate ourselves about the possibilities so that we can staff an effort to assess and evaluate.

There are a lot of options.

posted by Susan Evans

They Got Us Started

This post pays tribute to those who got us started!

In May 2006, Provost Geoff Feiss charged a web assessment committee to review the College's web presence and provide recommendations in the form of a white paper. Members of the W&M Web Assessment Committee were:
Courtney Carpenter, Information Technology (Chair)
Clay Clemens, Government Department
Susan T. Evans, Information Technology
Stewart Gamage, Public Affairs
Earl Granger, Enrollment
Lisa Grimes, Charles Center
Tim Jones, Public Affairs
Jack Martin, English Department
Steve Otto, Arts and Sciences

posted by Susan Evans

Pre Planning (Nov 21 - Dec 21)

There is a fair amount to report - even prior to the official announcement of re.web!

Here's what we've been up to:

• created the project web site at http://www.wm.edu/reweb
• compiled a laundry list of consultants, content management systems, and schools undertaking similar projects
• conducted four conference calls with web consulting firms
• collected sample RFP documents
• met with seven representatives from key constituencies including:
  

1. Alumni - Karen Cottrell
2. Development - Teresa Munford
3. Enrollment - Earl Granger
4. Law School - Trotter Hardy
5. Libraries - Connie McCarthy
   
6. President's Office - Chon Glover
   
7. Registrar - Sallie Marchello

posted by Susan Evans