Policies

Policy #2502: Web Management

Selkirk College Policies and Procedures

Title and Number Policy #2502: Web Management
Replaces B2003.4
Effective June 22, 2009 Next review September 17, 2014
Executive Responsibility Administrative Responsibility Recommended by Policy Review Committee May 5, 2009
Director of Communications and Development VP Administration IT Department Head Jointly with Institutional Marketing Coördinator Recommended/Approved by Education Council
Approved by President September 17, 2009
Replaces
B2003.4
Effective
June 22, 2009
Next Review
September 17, 2014
Executive Responsibility
Director of Communications and Development VP Administration
Administrative Responsibility
IT Department Head Jointly with Institutional Marketing Coördinator
Recommended by Policy Review Committee
May 5, 2009
Recommended/Approved by Education Council
Approved by President
September 17, 2009

Downloads

Web Management 2502

 

1. GENERAL

The Selkirk College website is an important communications tool employed by the College to provide easy public access to College information regarding programs, services, people and events. It is also an important interactive tool in recruitment, staff support, and the teaching and learning process. Selkirk College acknowledges the importance of a high quality web presence that successfully supports the mission of the College for internal and external users.

2. POLICY

All web content will adhere to the Selkirk College brand.

All web content linked from Selkirk College websites are linked by permission of the Web Steering Committee and may be removed at any time. All Selkirk College web-based information will be contained and managed on servers/domains provisioned through IT Services or authorized by the Web Steering Committee. All domain names utilized by Selkirk College will be registered and maintained by IT Services.

3. SCOPE

This policy is applicable to all program or service area web content representing Selkirk College. Entities referenced in this document are further defined in the Terms of Reference for the Web Steering Committee.

4. PROCEDURES

A. Brand

Visual consistency will be maintained by utilizing established Selkirk College web templates (including page header, footer, and navigation elements) and design elements in accordance with the Selkirk College Style Guide and Marketing Strategy (developed and maintained by Communications and Development — seerelated documentation). Communications and Development will provide design guidance and oversight to the Web Team, who will create templates based on designs from Communications and Development.

All teaching and learning materials that have a web presence will utilize established Selkirk College web templates<.

B. Web Steering Committee

The Web Steering Committee will provide oversight and direction to both Communications and Development and the Web Team to ensure that all web development is in step with the strategic initiatives defined for the college. They will also provide direction with regard to the propriety, scope, and priority of projects to be implemented, including the development of additional features and functionality of new and existing web systems.

C. Web Management Responsibilities

i. Technical Responsibilities

IT Services will be responsible for the development, maintenance and security of the back-end systems supporting the College website (eg. content management system, servers, databases, domain names). The Web Team will also provide training and oversee appropriate use of web sites with respect to mark-up and coding standards, best practices, accessibility, usability and user experience, search engine optimisation, avoiding duplicated content, ease of maintenance, et cetera. The Web Team will defer brand-related issues to Communications and Development.

ii. Aesthetic Responsibilities

Communications and Development will be responsible for the website’s “look and feel”. This includes visual appearance (e. g. typography, colour, design, style, graphics) and “voice” (e. g. consistent spelling, grammar, writing style, wording and terminology) in accordance with the Selkirk College Style Guide and Marketing Strategy.

iii. Information Architecture and Site Navigation

Information architecture refers to way in which an information space (such as a website) is organised. It refers to the structure, content, labelling and categorisation of information, including the design of navigation and search systems. The aim of information architecture is to help users find information and complete their tasks.

The Web Team, Communications and Development, and the Web Steering Committee all have vested interests in the structuring of web content. At times, the responsibilities outlined in 4.3.1 and 4.3.2 may compete when deciding on information architecture. This may include discussions on how best to group related content. However, all three parties are equally concerned with ensuring that all content is as easy to find as possible.

With these priorities in mind, the Web Team will manage the technical details of creating and maintaining the information architecture and site navigation for Selkirk sites. They will defer to Communications and Development on matters of appearance and voice as per 4.3.2. Issues of overlapping interest (such as how best to group content) will be discussed between the Web Team and Communications and Development, with the Web Steering Committee providing direction and final authority.

No changes will be made to the visual top-level navigation (programs, students, services etcetera) without approval of the Web Steering Committee.

iv. Content Responsibilities

The responsibility for entering web content and ensuring its accuracy and relevance will be assigned to Divisions, Departments and Schools in accordance with their areas of oversight.

D. Administrative Procedures

The Institutional Marketing Coordinator, the Communications Coordinator and the Web Team will regularly review and have the authority from the Web Steering Committee to edit content contained on Selkirk.ca. This will ensure consistency according to their respective areas of responsibility. The CMS Support Specialist (a member of the Web Team) will be the primary point of contact for all issues regarding the web site. The Web Team will defer inquiries related to branding or content issues to the Institutional Marketing Coordinator or respective content provider(s) as appropriate.

Other relevant policies:

Policy #2501—Publications and Promotional Materials; Terms of Reference for the Web Steering Committee; Selkirk College Marketing Strategy; Selkirk College Style Guide

Keywords:

web site, web servers, web management, web publishing