| Committee mulls future of AU’s Web sites, seeks higher-ed benchmarks BY MATT GETTY Anyone who’s hunted online for information about a large organization knows that the phrase “Oh what a tangled Web we weave” can apply to more than just deception. As the Internet has increasingly defined not only how organizations communicate but also how they function, many Web sites have become tangled to say the least. Evolving organically from simple marketing tools into the only way many alumni, prospective students, and parents interact with an institution, university Web sites in particular run the risk of becoming online sprawl at the same time they’re becoming vital to a school’s success. Interim President Neil Kerwin recently launched a university-wide reevaluation of www.american.edu with the intent to define and produce a top caliber Web presence for AU. Kerwin charged School of Communication dean Larry Kirkman with examining the university’s Web sites and determining a strategy that will ensure AU puts it best face forward on the Web. “This will be one of the most important initiatives this year,” said Kerwin. “Our dependence on the Web is unquestioned, and we cannot afford to be anything but superb in our design, usage, and applications. Dean Kirkman’s group is charged with asking all of the difficult questions in an effort to achieve top status.” “For our academic programs to excel, for success in student recruitment, alumni outreach and fund raising, and professional reputation building,” said Kirkman, “the university has to deploy a constellation of robust Web sites that are interoperable, easy-to-use, well designed, and well produced.” To move the assignment ahead, Kirkman has assembled a Web Advisory Committee comprising representatives from all academic units and several administrative departments. Its three working groups will each tackle a different aspect of the job and produce a report for Kerwin to share with the university senior management team during their June retreat. The survey working group, chaired by Mary Schellinger, CAS assistant dean, will look at AU’s existing Web sites. Last week the committee distributed a survey to 22 university units with the goal of gaining a snapshot of how AU’s numerous Web sites are currently managed. “We know we have lots of different [Web] goals and strategies. This will give us an inventory . . . of how departments use their Web sites, what they want to use them for, and whether they see them as successful,” said Schellinger. The consultant working group, chaired by WCL Office of Technology director Korin Munsterman, has put out a request for proposals to firms that specialize in Web development research. The research goal is to examine other university Web sites, including those that compete with AU for students, to define current higher education best practices for Web content development and management. Munsterman says their group hopes to answer such questions as where other schools house their Web content team, how often their sites are refreshed, who determines home page content, and whether Web management is centralized or decentralized. The strategy working group, which includes World Wide Web operations director Michelle Handlir, and is chaired by SPA assistant dean Jackie Linde, will synthesize the two other working groups’ findings to provide recommendations for strengthening AU’s Web strategy. Their goal is to assess internal and external practices to determine whether AU’s Web management should be centralized or decentralized, what are the appropriate levels of funding for Web management, and what organizational changes might be necessary to ensure AU continues to maximize the Web’s potential. The committee is working on “the fast track,” says Schellinger, to produce significant findings in time for the June senior management retreat. |
