Web Content Update Procedure

Web Advisory Council

Utah ValleyUniversity

(26 July 2004)

Introduction

The Web Advisory Council (WAC) has been meeting since March 2004, and we have identified a number of structural issues that we are in the process of dealing with just now. Our Website gives a good sense of our activity (http://www.uvu.edu/web/ )

The Advisory Council feels strongly that as we move into the future we must first ensure the correctness of information that appears on all our sites. The WAC considers accuracy of information on the Web to be among the most compelling and immediate issues that the institution faces - from both an academic and a marketing perspective.

Therefore, as a recommending body, we have received approval from President’s Council to implement a procedure that addresses the issues of assigning responsibility for site ownership, for designating the contact individuals in each division/department on campus, and for actually manipulating web pages.

We have set an implementation deadline of 1 October for all offices on campus. This means that, by that date, each of the defined responsibilities would be assigned and that each site would be appropriately updated and correct.

Thank you.

On behalf of the Web Advisory Council,

William W. Cobb, Jr., Chair

Definitions

Level One Pages: Web pages that present to the public general information about the college and provide official information for divisions, departments, programs, and employees. A content management system would be used to maintain look and feel with a variety of approved templates. Strict standardization and control within variable template levels and areas are required.

Site: A web site is one or more web pages associated with a department or area.

Site Owner: The site owner is the administrative person (e.g., dean, department chair, supervisor) who is solely responsible for ensuring that all page content is accurate, current and complete. The owner is also responsible for assigning a contact person and web coordinator for all pages on the site. An audit of the site web pages will be overseen by the site owner at least quarterly.

Contact Person: This person is an agent of the site owner and will act as the point of contact for the web site. They will help the web coordinator obtain content that is needed from content experts. The contact person’s email and phone will appear in the bottom section of all site pages and on the Report Errors form. It is important that the contact information for this person be kept current and accurate. The contact person will be responsible for making sure all error report issues are addressed within a reasonable time.

Web Coordinator: This person is an agent of the site owner who is responsible for maintaining and updating all pages on the web site. This person will directly manipulate web pages and may need to work in the Content Management System to implement these changes. The coordinator will also be responsible for implementing a backup strategy for the site. The web coordinator will be required to attend training and participate in a user’s group to support their web development activities.

Note: The same person may fulfill more than one of these roles above.

Procedure

1. Each web site or area must have a site owner, contact person, and web coordinator assigned to it (see definitions above). The same person may fulfill more than one of these roles. This information must be verified and updated through a formal process coordinated by the web resource director on a quarterly basis. A checklist will be provided on the sign-off form to assist with the update process.

2. All level 1 pages on the UVU.edu website must go through a formal review process yearly as outlined below.

3. All web pages on the UVU.edu website must have an expiration date. This expiration date should be set by the site owner if shorter than 1 year and may be renewed if the content is reviewed and up-to-date. The page’s owner will receive notification upon expiration and is responsible to update the page, renew the page, or remove the page within a reasonable period of time based upon the type of content.

4. All web pages on other UVU websites must have an expiration date as determined by the site owner within the guidelines established for those websites.

5. Each site owner, contact person, and web coordinator must attend training specific for their respective roles.

6. The site owners are responsible for the review process and must sign off at the conclusion of the review that,
a. they are the site owner,
b. the contact person and web coordinator listed are correct, and
c. the site has been reviewed appropriately and that the content is accurate and current.