Web rollout brings new look, improved functionality, to ASU's web presence

Sept. 8, 2008 -- On Tuesday, Sept. 9, Arkansas State University will roll out an updated Internet home page and other redesigned Web pages. The faculty and staff of ASU have led in the design and rollout of the new site.

Mark Hoeting, chief information officer for the university, says, “The rollout of the new ASU Web site is the result of a collaborative effort of faculty and staff from across the university. From the initial designs to the structural decisions about where and how content is presented, the Web Design Committee has put forth a monumental effort to produce an exciting and compelling Web presence for ASU.

“Once fully implemented, the new Web presence for ASU will provide a comprehensive view of our university, will help in keeping information accurate and timely, will make information easy to find, and will provide the users with seamless transitions as they navigate between sites in the ASU Web presence.”

The redesign project was commissioned by ASU-Jonesboro’s chancellor, Dr. Robert L. Potts, as a result of a Web Design task force’s report in February of this year, and the ensuing project resulted in the redesign and restructuring of ASU’s Web site.

ASU’s Web presence is where external constituents engage with the university, whether those constituents are prospective students, alumni, or the general public. The Web also provides internal resources for ASU’s faculty, staff, and current students. The new design of the ASU home page should have a significant impact upon student recruitment and admissions; the Internet home page will be many prospective students’ first glimpse of ASU. The new design will also serve to unify the style of all of ASU’s Web pages for greater consistency among the pages of colleges, departments, and divisions.

The look and feel of ASU’s Web presence will change, and so, too, will the systems that host the site. The redesign will add functionality, as well; information on the site will now be divided into two basic classes. Information geared to external audiences will be available via the Internet, and information that is geared to internal audiences will be available via the Intranet. A new content management system, dotCMS, will help websites look and feel and operate more consistently. The redesign will keep ASU’s Web pages more consistent, easier to update, and more user-friendly.

“In many cases, the ASU Web site is the first image potential students have of the university,” says Markham Howe, director of university relations and a member of the Web Design team. “We want them to be so intrigued that they will make a second and third click into the site to see the opportunities we offer to power their minds, their social experiences and their lives. ”             

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