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Team members: Marissa E. Blas, Monica Jolly, Sabrina MossTeam Advisor: Dr. Andrea McDowellSeattle University Student Development Administration Masters Program

A Website Philosophy to

Celebrate Student Life

Introduction

Our committee has been tasked with evaluating and creating a

philosophy for the Student Life web site at Western Idaho College.

In this presentation, we will:

1. Identify Our Goals

2. Address Student Needs

3. Assess Our Current Status & Policy

4. Outline Course of Action and Strategy

5. Incorporate Relevant Student Affairs Theory

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Goals• Assess current Student Life website against

standards as a baseline for improvement

• Create a Student Life website congruent with

institutional mission and values

• Transform Western Idaho Colleges Student Life web site to reflect its progressive website philosophy

• Promote a campus culture that values quality service through learning & collaboration

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• Provide current, accessible information to students, family, alumni, faculty, staff and friends

• Make connections between students, the community, and WIC

• Advance Western Idaho College by remaining competitive in the areas of online communication and technology

• Engage and retain students

• Provide opportunity for growth and talent development

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What We Want Our Website To Do:

Trends Shaping Student Affairs

In Looking beyond the horizon: Trends shaping student affairs: Technology, Upcraft and Terenzini note that:

• Students increasingly rely on technology in and out of the classroom

• Staff and administrative support services increasingly rely on technology

• Distance and virtual education programs have grown extensively

• Keeping up with technology and innovation proves challenging

Upcraft, M. L., & Terenzini, P. T. (1998). Looking beyond the horizon: Trends shaping student affairs: Technology. ACPA Senior Scholars Conference Presentation. Available online at: http://www.acpa.nche.edu/seniorscholars/trends/trends5.htm

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Services Provided• Comprehensive, current, & accessible services

to connect student to WIC

• Offer services that provide access & encourage growth (orientation, career services, the learning center)

• How can we use the website to pave the way for further on-line growth (online applications, distance learning, etc.)

• Remain consistent with standards & criteria for evaluating websites

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Action Plan • ASSESSASSESS the current web site

• Determine initial student service FOCUSFOCUS

• IDENTIFYIDENTIFY policies & departments affected by website changes

• Develop PARTNERSHIPS PARTNERSHIPS to support plans for new services

• CREATECREATE an implementation plan

• Continue to UPGRADEUPGRADE services on an ongoing basis to maintain state-of-the-art service

• TESTTEST the new service with a pilot group of students

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Assessment• Survey students’ satisfaction with current Student

Life website

• Elicit feedback from students who do not attend WIC

• Implement Power User Pilot Program: Before & After

• Form focus groups for student, faculty, staff, alumni

& community to identify needs

• Adopt two models for website evaluation

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A Look At Best Practices

Xavier UniversityXavier Universityhttp://www.xula.edu/index.html

• Excellent example of a website congruent with institutional mission & values

University of Puget SoundUniversity of Puget Soundhttp://www.ups.edu/external_homes/

• Website demonstrates a personal connection to students & a student-centered focus

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Policies Affected

• Identify policies & people affected by website enhancements & modifications

• Seek feasible solutions, available resources & identify capabilities to create change

• Communicate the goals & objectives to those affected; seek input & support

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Partnership• Gain support & input from administration, students, staff,

& faculty

• Seek out community partners

• Seek out individuals & departments to help assist Information Technology,

• Model Behavior: Communicate to campus community about website standards being adopted by Student Life

• Use Information Technology (IT) on campus to provide

training sessions to help sustain new website standards

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Power User Pilot Program

Users attempt to navigate website and obtain specific information.

Phase 1: Individuals use existing Student Life websitePhase 2: Individuals use Student Life Beta site

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Continual Growth of the Student Life Website

• Provide learning opportunities for students to maintain Student Life website

• Provide staff training on how new tool can be of service to them

• Autonomy for departments & students to communicate & document timely information

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Website Developments

• Student Life Website Philosophy

• Criteria for Evaluating Website Content

• Website Assessment for Student Affairs

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Student Life Website Philosophy

To provide a comprehensive, current, & accessible website that focuses on celebrating and engaging studentsin their campus community.

Our students will have free access to information & willbe invited to develop their talents in an environment that engages & sustains their future growth.

Student needs will be the cornerstone of the StudentLife web site, & they will be reflected in a manner that fosters involvement of faculty, staff, family, alumni, & community.

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Criteria For Evaluating Website Content

• AuthorityAuthority: Ensure that website authors can provide information that is reliable & error free

• AccuracyAccuracy: Do quality control measures ensure against grammatical, spelling, & typographical errors?

• ObjectivityObjectivity:Are goals & site information clearly stated with a minimum of bias?

• CurrencyCurrency: Is the information up-to-date & reflect current revision?

• CoverageCoverage: In what depth is the information covered, & does it reflect whether information is complete

http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webeval/eval1198/sld001.htmhttp://www.wcet.info/projects/laap/guidelines/cheatsheet.htm

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Web site Assessment For Student Affairs

• How well are our values communicated?

• Have we considered our actual campus ecology & reflected this in the Student Life website?

• How is the development of identity reflected in the web site? To what extent does the web site promote student development?

• To what extent does the web site promote student learning?

• What has the evaluation of the website been able to do for students?

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Barratt W. (2001). Models for evaluating student affairs websites

Communicating Values

Current Site• Dept.’s & divisions in

Student Affairs are represented

• Active information is available (athletic sched. & events)

• Some regulatory information is available (Student Conduct Policies)

Beta Enhancements•Inclusion of all student groups•Links with allied departments•Enhance convenience (SGA Constitution & Student Conduct Policies)•Include mechanisms for student interaction•On-going updates for currency•More community & global links•Continued awareness of accountability and accessibility

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Campus Ecology

Current Site• Limited contact information

of people provided

• Location & physical addresses made available

• No attention is given to the college “campus web visit”, Banning, (2000)

Beta Enhancements •Accurately reflect campus climate and diversity

•Incorporate Wayfinding online Arthur, P., & Passini, R. (1992). Wayfinding: people, signs and architecture. Students are able to find their way online, as it is applied through signage on campus

•Strange (1996) specifically mentions virtual tours on the Internet as elements of a campus' physical environment

•Considers student demographics

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Student Development Tool

Current Site • Does not use student

development theory in Student Life website

• The development of purpose, such as volunteerism is not reflected

• Opportunity for student

autonomy is not provided

Beta Enhancements•Chickering’s (1993) Education & Identity, Boyer’s (1990) In Search of Community theory drives content of Student Life website

•Continue to promote student autonomy by removing barriers to access information

•Create innovative ways to promote student community development, e.g. online perpetual plaque for outstanding student involved with community service

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Learning Tool Current Site• Fails to engage more

students with Student Life on campus

• Does not foster “talent development”,Jacobi (1987), by allowing students, faculty, & staff to learn about website evaluation

Beta Enhancements

•Address ways to engage students who are technologically savvy in Student Life

•Continue to engage students in future learning projects in Student Life to foster talent development

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Site Design & FeaturesCurrent Site

• Site design does not reflect how students access information

• Material is not available within three clicks

• Specific information can not be accessed quickly

Beta Enhancement•Develop goals for the website

•Articulate target audience and remain consistent when adding content & features

•Track usage, e.g. add counters

•Consider individual access tracking & privacy issues

•Printing is facilitated by limiting page lengths & containing appropriate page titles

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Student EvaluationCurrent Site

• Students not satisfied with access, e.g. calendar

• Students not satisfied with amount of content information provided

Beta Enhancements•Recruit a group of students from neighboring colleges & high schools to participate in pilot testing the website

•Prior to launch create a usability team & assign them tasks to test site functionality & ease of use

•Once the site is launched, work with current students to ensure it meets their needs

•System requirements needed to load or view web pages

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Design & Content EvaluationCurrent Site

• Design of site meets very basic system requirements; contains no flickering images

• Content contains simple, objective & appropriate language

Beta Enhancements•Adhere to Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) guidelines as outlined by the World Wide Web (W3C) to ensure full ADA compliance

•Ensure that site design reflects current campus technological capabilities

•Provide training to support staff to enable inclusion of active & current information

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Future Inclusion in Student Life Web site

Provide specific information on:

• Student Government• Clubs & Organizations• Health & Wellness• The Tuber Times (Student Newspaper)• International Students• Take Your Professor to Lunch Program

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Presentation of Student Life

Beta Enhanced Site

Online at:

http://students.seattleu.edu/mosss/default.htm

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Launch Party

In celebration of the new Student Life website,Boyer (1990):

• Launch date for proposed site: March 3, 2003 in the Student Center at 11:00 am

• The Student Life website will be available online at all campus wide monitors

• Reception will immediately follow for the campus community

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Referenceshttp://www.wcet.info/projects/laap/guidelines/cheatsheet.htm

 Alexander, Janet E., and Marsha A. Tate. "Evaluating Web Resources." Chester, PA: Widener University, 2001.

http://www2.widener.edu/Wolfgram-Memorial-Library/webevaluation/webeval.htm Arthur, P., & Passini, R. (1992). Wayfinding: People, signs, and architecture. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company.

Banning, J. H., Davies, T.G., Quick, D.G. (2000). The campus web visit. Student Affairs On-Line. Vol 1. No. 3. Retrieved from http://www.studentaffairs.com/ejournal/Fall_2000/art3.html#Guernsey

Barratt, W. (2001). Models for evaluating student affairs websites. Student Affairs On-Line. Vol 2. No. 2. Retrieved from: http://www.studentaffairs.com/ejournal/Spring_2001/will1.html  Boyer, E. (1987). College: The undergraduate experience in America. New York: Harper & Row, Publishers.

Boyer, E. (1990). Campus life: in search of community. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.

Jacobi M., Astin A., Ayala F. Jr. (1987).College student outcomes assessment: talent development perspective. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

Xavier University of Louisiana. (2003) Retrieved from http://www.xula.edu/index.html

Strange, C.C. (1996). Dynamics of campus environments. In S.R. Komives & D.B.,Woodard, Jr. (Eds.). Student services: A handbook for the profession (pp. 244-269). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

 Upcraft, M. L., & Terenzini, P. T. (1998). Looking beyond the horizon: Trends shaping student affairs: Technology. ACPA Senior Scholars Conference Presentation. Retrieved from: http://www.acpa.nche.edu/seniorscholars/trends/trends5.htm

University of Puget Sound web site. (2003). Retrieved from http://www.ups.edu/external_homes/

Wallace, H. (2000). Campus Ecology Theory and Websites: One Example of Applying Traditional Student Affairs Theory to Technology. Student Affairs On-Line. Vol. 1 No. 3 Retrieved from: http://www.studentaffairs.com/ejournal/Fall_2000/art4.html

Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education. (2003). Beyond the administrative core:creating web-based student servics for online learners. Retrieved from http://www.wcet.info/projects/laap/guidelines/cheatsheet.htm

Web Accessibility Initiative. Retrieved from: http://www.w3.org/WAI/

World Wide Web Consortium. Retrieved from: http://www.w3.org/

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