Student Life Website Technological Advancement Committee The Purpose of This Committee Is to Review and Propose Changes to the Student Life Website Presented by: Sameer.
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Student Life Website Technological Advancement Committee The Purpose of This Committee Is to Review and Propose Changes to the Student Life Website Presented by: Sameer Paroo, Matt Suwalski, Sarah Rockwell, and Leah Dooley Western Illinois University Student Life Department Website Philosophy The philosophy of the Student Life website at Western Idaho College is to provide access to information and resources to aid in the development and advancement of the institutional mission as it compliments the mission of the department of student life. In addition, we want the website of the student life department to be inclusive and current in its representation of all functional areas. Assumptions • • • • • • The WIC Student Life department only consists of the functional areas mentioned on the student life department homepage (Residence Life, Career Services, Orientation, and Athletics) The Student Life department at WIC is the same as the division of student affairs at WIC The Vice President for Student Affairs believes in purposeful change and is willing to consider strategically placing resources in areas that can maintain and sustain proposed changes The policies and procedures found on the current website is for the students living in the residence halls Our committee is known as the Technological Advancement Committee within the division of student affairs There is no technological expert that works in the division of student affairs Website Target Audience • On-Campus Students – Students who live on campus in residence halls who would utilize the website for information and student resources • Off-Campus Students – Students who live close to campus but in off-campus housing accessing the website for information • Commuter Students – Students who commute to campus would utilize the website differently and more frequently than those living on or near campus Website Target Audience • Prospective Students – Students who are not currently enrolled at WIC and are looking at information about the college and the division of Student Life • Parents – Parents of student who want information about the college and the division of Student Life • Other Colleges / Universities – Other colleges and University will look at WIC as a benchmarking and to determine what other schools are doing and providing for their students. Website Target Audience • International Students – Students who are from a country other than the United States • Faculty and Staff at WIC – The faculty and staff at WIC could use the website to exchange information and research, and would also serve as a resource for student events and activities. • Alumni – Alumni want to find out what is going on at their Alma mater, and what activities universities are programming. Examples of Website uses Clemson University http://www.clemson.edu Florida State University http://www.fsu.edu University of Massachusetts at Amherst http://www.umass.edu Iowa State University http://www.iastate.edu University of Wisconsin Oshkosh http://www.uwosh.edu Stanford University http://www.stanford.edu University of Delaware http://www.udel.edu University of Minnesota http://www.umn.edu Critique of Student Life Site Consistency –The website needs to have consistency throughout the website. The use of a common division and university header and footer is a great way to allow identification and navigation. Working Links –The webpage should contain working links to all internal website. Periodic checking of links can ensure that Graphics / Pictures –Student Life website should contain appealing graphics and pictures of the campus and university events Critique of Student Life Site Working Email links –Email links should be click able and can be displayed as <A href="mailto:[email protected]">Student Life</A> which would appear as Student Life Descriptive titles –The titles located at the top of each webpage browser should be descriptive to the individual webpages and their content. Spell Checking –The website should be checked, and double checked to make sure that there are no spelling errors on the webpage. Remember the website reflects the college. Critique of Student Life Site Site Index –The site index should provide direction and a description of all the pages to allow for easy navigation. Accessibility of Website –Website should be viewable by a multitude of different web viewers and operating platforms (e.g. Internet Explore Version X, Netscape, Mac, etc.) Webpage Redundancy –Do not display the same information more than needed on a webpage. This will only confuse and misdirect viewers. Critique of Student Life Site Handicap Accessible –Be sure that your website is American and Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant to allow all student an opportunity to explore the website and gather information. Keep Pages Up-To-Date –Always make sure that the webpage are kept up-to-date to make certain that the most current information is available. Correct Contact Information –You must ensure that contact info is understandable by everyone that views the page. List all numbers completely (I.e (555) 555-6593 x4523). Have a section to be able to contact the university for more information, including divisional email address. Critique of Student Life Site Staff Listing –Have a listing of office staff on the website so that visitors can easily find the right person that they would need to contact to avoid possible confusion. Section About the University / Student Life Department –Include a section describing what the “Student Life Department” does, what its purpose is, who does it serve, what does it offer, and how it helps students. Avoid pages “Under Construction” –Avoid listing pages that are under construction, to avoid this do not list the new site until you have a completed project. Recommendation for the Student Life Department website • Short-term -Change the elements of the website that were mentioned in the critique -Asses the suggested target audiences needs and use of the website • Long-Term -Asses other institutions websites to determine how the Student Life department should and could use their website -Higher a technological expert for the student life department Brief literature review “As educators, student affairs practitioners can maintain high touch with students in an ever increasing high tech environment by leveraging technology to encourage the formation and growth of communities both on the campus and in the virtual domain for the distance learner (Elling & Brown, 2001)” Elling, T. W. & Brown, S.J., (2001) Advancing Technology and Student Affairs Practice.” The Professional Student Affair Administrator. Winston, Creamer, and Miller. New York: Brunner-Routledge, 81-104. Brief literature review “Turing a blind eye, not accepting the fact that student will use the internet more or not beginning to serve distance-learning students will diminish the effectiveness and importance of the work of the student affairs offices” (Volchok, 2000) Volchok, D. (2000, Summer). Student Affairs and Technology: An Introduction to the Integration of dot.coms and Student Affairs. Student Affairs Online. Retrieved October 16, 2002 from the World Wide Web: http://www.StudentAffairs.com/ejournal/Summer_2000/art1.html Brief literature review “Most divisions of student struggle to keep rudimentary web presences current in either environment, and are precluded from conceiving how to take their web endeavors ‘to the next level.’” (Taylor, 2002, ¶6) Taylor, D. (2002) Why webmasters make good pets. Student Affairs On-line. Retrieved February 18, 2003, from http://www.studentaffairs.com/ejournal/Fall_2002/webmasters.html. Brief literature review “Thus, the key to enhancing the learning and personal development is not simply for faculty to teach more and better, but also to create conditions that motivate and inspire students to devote time and energy to educationallypurposeful activities, both in and outside the classroom” (ACPA, 1996, p.118) American College Personnel Association (1996). The Student Learning Imperative: Implications for Student Affairs. Journal of College Student Development, 37, 118-122. Brief literature review “Online student services allow for 24-hour access, 7 days a week by people on and off campus. The literature imposed by ‘brick and mortar’ structures can be inconsequential for student affairs professionals in their day-to-day functions.” Brown, S.J., and G.D. Malaney. (2001). How NASPA members use the internet. NASPA Journal, 28, 302-325. Brief literature review “Although the technology experience may not be universal, the presence of technology in the learning environment is increasingly common: an e-mail address on a course syllabus; electronic mail as a supplement to office hours; class sessions held in computer labs; desktop computers in faculty offices; commercial software and simulations as part of the resources provided by text-book publishers; and course assignments that send students to World Wide Web (WWW) sites in search of information resources.” Green, K. C. (1996). The Coming Ubiquity of Information Technology. Change. 28 (2). 25-29.