Getting StartedWith  Governance

A Beginners Guide to Higher Ed Web Governance

About Matt Herzberger

Having worked at both large public and small private institutions, Matt understands the unique challenges that come with a university website. He has more than 13 years experience in digital strategy for higher education.

About the Author

About Aligned Path

We know higher education websites. Our goal is simple: to bring order to higher ed’s wild, wild Web. We understand the challenges facing higher education and the growing demands placed on Web teams. We’ve experienced the silos, the shrinking resources, the lack of defined processes, the growing complexity. We bring order.

The most important thing to know about Aligned path: we align processes, policies, tools and people to an organization’s objectives.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. INTRODUCTION

2. DEFINE YOUR END GOAL

3. OUTLINE YOUR PROBLEM

4. BUILD A CASE

5. CREATE A PATH TO SUCCESS

6. CONCLUSION

For starters, what is web governance? Definitions vary but at it’s core it can be defined as:

Everything needed to manage your university’s Web presence in an efficient and orderly way. The scale or size of your website will drive the activities required to manage it and the resources needed to perform those activities. It is made of four parts web strategy, web governance, web execution, and web measurement

Introduction

Introduction

Over the last 10-15 years web has gone from being a “new” medium to the most important medium

This is warp speed in organization time. Our demands and expectations have far surpassed our organization’s abilities to keep pace from a resource and planning prospective. In days of past we had print which was a simple medium to track and maintain. We had visibility and in most cases the print shop was the place to catch what was going out. That being said, web is 24/7 and we can’t be everywhere all the time. Web is critical to our institution’s operations and we need start to carry out web operations in a mature and strategic fashion.

“Web governance frees you up to focus on strategic objectives. You’ll be able to plan for the future instead of putting out fires in the present.

Define your goal

Develop understanding and clear definition of your objectives (Point B). Ask questions, but most importantly,

listen

 Where you want to go

•What are your organization’s overarching goals? •How does web play a piece in that today? •Is there a written web strategy? •Who is the ultimate decision maker on web issues?

Outline your problem

Generate a complete picture of your current challenges (Point A). In tandem with campus stakeholders, gather

insights

Where you are now

• Has anyone documented the legal, financial, and reputation-related risks we’re taking on the web?

• Are the units or people not participating in the campus wide planning? • Are there clear and understood guidelines for prioritizing web projects? • Are the tools or systems that not everyone uses? • Do you feel you have the right staff to meet the demands of your campus?

Build a case

Work to create a culture of collaboration and change, find someone in senior leadership who will be your champion

Where you are now

• Build relationship across your organization • Work your strengths, find low hanging fruit • Find examples of other organizations that are doing this successfully • Get external validation, find a partner who can help back your assumptions • Show things that affect the bottom line (money and risk)

Create a path to success

Understand that you will not start at “perfect”. You more than likely have a number of pieces of governance today.

Start with small wins and go from there

Where you are now

• Start to find others who are calling for change • Find a first project • Demonstrate and communicate your wins • Keep focused on the success of your users and your organization

Web strategy must be just that, strategic. We must move from a production focused mindset

TIP

An investment in internal efficiencies makes all future investments pay off many times over with increased chances for success

Conclusion

Wonder how to better align your Web resources?

Change in Higher ed Web is overdue. We want to hear more about your problems. Get ahold of us to discuss your issues

CONTACT US NOW