ANN ARBOR—LSA students, faculty, staff and alumni can now enjoy faster, easier access to more timely and customized information at the College’s new Website at www.lsa.umich.edu.

While the new site offers a cleaner, more consistent look, the real improvements go far beyond a redesign. The engine behind the site’s changes—new content, easier navigation and customized pages for specific audiences—is something called a content management system. LSA is one of a few colleges in the country to have such a system. The content management system (CMS) is a sophisticated and powerful database that integrates and manages all of the information in the college’s website. The CMS allows for quick and easy updates without requiring extensive technical knowledge.

In the past, personnel needed HTML-programming expertise to update and change information. This led too often to outdated and inaccurate information online. Now, college personnel with the proper clearance can modify their Web sites by typing information into a simple text box. “The new CMS allows updates to be shared instantly across multiple Web sites so the most accurate, up-to-date information can be delivered where you need it, when you need it,” says Peggy Burns, assistant dean for LSA Marketing and Communications.

“Likewise, authorized users can update content quickly and without HTML knowledge, a true productivity enhancement for those who choose to participate.” Other highlights of the new Web site include LSA News, an updated feature on LSA faculty and programs making headlines. The site also features a more user-friendly LSA course guide with information previously only available through Wolverine Access. This will eliminate many steps in the course-registration process. And there is a new LSA events calendar that is kept current up to the minute.

At the homepage to the site, students, faculty and staff, alumni or parents can click on corresponding buttons on the navigation bar and the subsequent pages of information will organize themselves according to their specific interests. For example, in the student section, students can access the new Student Survival Guide that helps them determine what to do to stay on track with their academic career. The new Web site is the work of the LSA Marketing and Communications web project team, which a year ago began conducting focus groups and surveys of LSA students, faculty, staff, and alumni as well as departments outside of LSA.

The redesigned LSA site includes the college’s homepage, dean’s office and non-instructional units, such as academic advising. LSA Interim Dean Terry McDonald has praise for the new Web site: “This project represents the culmination of months of research, input and collaboration. The end result will truly benefit our students and faculty and serve as a vehicle to highlight the exceptional teaching and research in LSA. In addition, this new site offers a technical foundation upon which we can build for years to come.”

Related Links:

• Student Survival Guide