Ingeniux Selected as New Content Management System
I’m pleased to announce that we have selected Ingeniux as our new content management system (CMS). The selection comes after nearly eight weeks of work and with considerable assistance and input from our Web vendor, BarkleyREI, and the CMS Selection Group, which included staff, faculty, and student representation.
The CMS finalists were Ingeniux (based in Seattle) and Hannon Hill (based in Atlanta). Both CMSs have a strong foothold in the higher education space with hundreds of college implementations between the two companies. Both CMS companies spent a full day on campus in April where they met with the Web staff, key staff from Information Technology, and provided two-hour demos of their CMSs in front of our selection group.
We started the CMS selection process with a clear understanding of our CMS functional requirements and objectives. These were communicated early on in the Web redesign project in the original RFP and then again during the CMS selection process. Both vendors submitted full proposals, which covered in detail how they matched up against our functional requirements. Their on-site demos also addressed how each product addressed our requirements. Both Hannon Hill and Ingeniux met most of these requirements, but in the end, Ingeniux came out on top. Read more
Schedule Set for On-Site CMS Demonstrations
All faculty and staff are invited to attend two upcoming content management system (CMS) on-site demonstrations. The dates for these sessions are included below. If you wish to attend any of the sessions, RSVP with Tricia Halliday at 656-7240 or thalliday@anselm.edu so we can provide a head count to Dining Services for refreshments and have enough seats set up to accommodate everyone who wishes to participate.
As was announced previously in this blog, a campus group is assisting College Communications and Marketing will CMS selection. The CMS is the software used by the college to manage Web site content.
INGENIUX - http://www.ingeniux.com
Date/Time: Wed., April 15 - 9:30a.m.-11:30 a.m
Location: NHIOP Auditorium
Ingeniux has more than 100 college implementations of their CMS, including Stonehill, Franklin and Marshall, Bates, Roanoke, Swarthmore, University of the Pacific, University of Puget Sound, and University of Pittsburg, to name a few.
HANNON HILL CASCADE SERVER - http://www.hannonhill.com
Date/Time: Wed., April 22 - 1:30 p.m.-3:30 p.m.
Location: NHIOP Auditorium
Hannon Hill has more than 100 college implementations of their Cascade Server CMS, including North Carolina State University, William & Mary, Bowdoin, Brandeis, Duke, Emory, Hofstra, and Northwestern, among others.
Campus Group to Assist With CMS Selection
As part of the redesign project, the college will be selecting and implementing a new content management system (CMS). The CMS is the software used by the college to manage Web site content.
The following faculty, staff, and students are assisting College Communications and Marketing with reviewing three-to-four content management systems. The CMS Selection Group will review content management system proposals, participate in on-site demos for each system, and provide feedback and recommendations to College Communications and Marketing regarding CMS selection.
CMS Selection Group Members
Doug Minor, Communications and Marketing (chair)
Adam Albina, Information Technology
Katherine Bentz, Fine Arts
Lauren Chooljian, Student, History
Lorie Cochran, NHIOP
John Dillon, Geisel Library
Fr. Mathias Durette, O.S.B., Student Affairs
Lisa Gowern, Events Management
Nancy Griffin, Admission
Keith Hrasky, Admission
Rui Li, Information Technology
Anne Lord, Alumni Relations
Br. Issac Murphy, O.S.B., Monastery
Jessica Pappathan, Chapel Art Center
Michelle Rocheleau, Academic Affairs
Laura Rossi, Communications and Marketing
Bob Shea, Dana Center
Cory True, student, politics
College Communications and Marketing is very appreciative of this group’s assistance during this phase of the redesign project during what is a very busy time of year for everyone.
Web Redesign Update: Strategy, Staffing/Web Management Assessment, and CMS Recommendations
Since BarkleyREI’s three days of on-site discovery meetings in late January we’ve been busy. We reviewed pages and pages of discovery notes and other information compiled during their time on campus. We’ve provided BarkleyREI with additional college research, Web analytics data, findings from campus listening sessions and Web redesign survey, and finalized a project schedule.
The BarkleyREI team has been a joy to work with. They have a very talented team and we are very pleased with the progress made so far.
Last week BarkleyREI presented their initial Web redesign strategy via conference call and Web presentation. We’re currently reviewing the document with internal stakeholders and will include an overview of the site strategy in this blog in the next couple of weeks.
BarkleyREI began their strategy presentation by saying the following:
“Arriving on campus we had certain perceptions about a small, Catholic, liberal arts college, but after hearing the many stories and experiences of faculty, staff, and students, you blew us away. Saint Anselm College is truly a special place. I want my kids to go there.”
So What’s Next?
As part of BarkleyREI’s work, we’ve asked them to review our current Web staffing level, how the site is currently managed and supported, adequacy of training provided to faculty and staff, and current Web budget. The goal of this exercise is to better understand the resources required to maintain and support an interactive, engaging Web site that incorporates multimedia technologies and content. BarkleyREI will present their recommendations to us later this week.
We’ve also asked BarkleyREI to recommend three content management systems (CMS), based on what they’ve learned during the discovery and strategy phases. In the coming weeks, we will seek the assistance of a core group of faculty, staff, and students to help us with CMS review and selection. The review and demonstration of each CMS product will be done through an open process. Once the CMS demonstrations are scheduled, campus-wide e-mails will be sent to faculty and staff inviting people to participate in each session. We’re also hopeful people will use the commenting features of this blog to provide feedback during the CMS selection process.
BarkleyREI On-Site Discovery Schedule for Jan. 26-29
The firm selected to redesign the Saint Anselm College Web site this calendar year, BarkleyREI, will be on campus Jan. 26-29 as part of their on-site discovery research. They will be meeting with multiple constituent groups during their time on campus.
Despite scheduling more than three days of meetings, we are not able to fit in everyone we’d like this time around. Rest assured that we will schedule additional conference calls with groups on campus in the weeks to come. We will begin to schedule these during the week of Feb. 2.
A big thanks to everyone who assisted College Communications and Marketing with organizing these sessions. Your participation is critical for a successful project outcome.
* Please note that each of these sessions are by invitation only.
College Selects BarkleyREI to Redesign Web Site
College Communications and Marketing (CCM) is pleased to announce that BarkleyREI of Pittsburgh, PA has been chosen to redesign the Saint Anselm College Web site. BarkleyREI was one of three finalists for the project and was chosen by a campus advisory group assisting CCM with the selection process.
BarkleyREI is a full service interactive marketing agency that specializes in building higher education, travel and tourism, and nonprofit Web sites. They have built a reputation for developing comprehensive Web strategies for many university clients, including Carnegie Mellon, Cornell, North Carolina State, Notre Dame, and Vanderbilt, among others.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the on-site vendor presentations, took time to complete the Web redesign survey, or attended Web Redesign listening sessions in November. Your participation and willingness to provide us with valuable input and feedback makes our work all that much easier.
Next Steps
Work on the redesign project will begin in late January when BarkleyREI visits campus for three days to meet with constituent groups across the college. We’ll post an updated project schedule as soon as it becomes available.
Share Your Thoughts at an Upcoming Web Redesign Listening Session
As College Communications and Marketing (CCM) continues to plan for the redesign of the Saint Anselm College Web site, we have scheduled several upcoming listening sessions in an effort to gather further input on the college’s current Web presence and campus needs.
Listening sessions will feature 60-75 minutes of discussion moderated by CCM staff. We’ll be available to go beyond 75 minutes if extra time is required.
Dates and Times (all sessions held in North Lounge, Cushing Center)
- Wed., November 12 - 1:30 p.m. - 2:30 p.m. (faculty and staff only)
- Wed., November 19 - 10:30 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (faculty and staff only)
- Wed., November 19 - 7 p.m. - 8 p.m. (student-only evening session)
- Thurs., November 20 - 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. (faculty, staff, and students)
- Fri., November 21 - 2:30 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. (faculty-only session)
Please make plans now to attend an upcoming listen session and tell CCM what’s on you mind. If you have questions, please feel free to use the comments feature of this blog or contact Doug Minor, managing editor/director of Web publishing, at 656-6184.
Complete the Web Redesign Survey by Oct. 24
We want your feedback!
All members of the campus community are invited to complete the Web redesign survey, which was circulated today by campus-wide e-mail to all faculty, staff, and students. The survey deadline is Friday, October 24.
As we plan for the redesign, we want to hear from you. We are interested in understanding how you use the current Web site and any likes or dislikes you have regarding the college’s current Web presence. We’re also interested in gaining insight into your overall usage of non-college Web sites.
Please be as specific and detailed as possible in your responses and include information on what you feel the college is doing well, not doing well, and anything you think is missing from the current Web site, including design elements, content, features, and functionality.
There will be additional opportunities to provide input on the college’s current Web presence through upcoming campus listening sessions and during the discovery process once the redesign project is fully underway.
You’re also welcome to leave comments through this blog.
Web Redesign RFP Out the Door
Earlier today the Web Redesign Request for Proposal (RFP) was mailed to 12 vendors who have expressed an interest in submitting a project proposal. The deadline for responses is August 4. All of the vendors have worked on higher education Web sites and several have experience in multiple industries (tourism, health care, financial, among others).
An advisory group will assist College Communications and Marketing in reviewing the submitted vendor proposals and narrow the selection to three finalists. The finalists will then be invited to campus for onsite proposal presentations.
The following faculty, staff, and student will review the proposals.
- Adam Albina, CIO, Office of Information Technology
- Anne Botteri, Asst. VP, College Communications and Marketing
- John Dillon, Assistant Librarian/Head of Tech Services, Geisel Library
- Fr. Mathias Durette, O.S.B., Asst. Dean of Students, Student Affairs
- Nancy Griffin, Dean of Admission, Office of Admisison
- Doug Minor, Director of Web Publishing, College Communications and Marketing
- Prof. Jay Pitocchelli, Chair, Biology Department
- Laura Rossi, Web Producer and Editor, College Communications and Marketing
- Cory True ‘09, Politics Major, Student Representative
Listed below are many of the key elements included in the RFP
Redesign goals and objectives
- Provide a consistent look and feel across all newly designed pages
- Improve the design and navigation of the top level of the site, while representing the college in a consistent and compelling manner
- Information categories are consistent across similar pages
- Select and deploy a new content management system (CMS)
- Improve the user experience for all visitors with specific emphasis on prospective students and on-campus users (current students, faculty, and staff)
- Present a highly interactive user experiences (using current technologies, including blogs, podcasts, viral video, virtual tours, photo galleries, wikis, etc.)
- Improve the site’s “sticky-ness” to produce return visits and increased time on the site
- Enhance the student recruitment process
- Simplified maintenance of site for all content editors
- Search engine optimization for higher and lower level pages.
Site hosting, requirements, and functionality
- Site hosting can be done on a Windows, Linux, or Unix platform
- Site must adhere to currently accepted Web and accessibility standards, specifically follow W3C standards for XHTML transitional and accessibility requirements as outlined in U.S. section 255 guidelines and Section 508 standards, as well as WCAG 2.0 issued by the W3C consortium
- Server and CMS platform that integrates with current campus technology and systems
- CMS should feature cross-platform compatibility and browser-based editing
- Considerations should be made for the increase use of the Web from mobile devices
- Externally accessible, Web-based events calendar, that supports online submission of events, subcalendars, RSS feeds, iCal and Outlook posting capabilities, and content syndication or tagging for use across the site
- Consideration of how the site can leverage Web 2.0 approaches and technology: social networking, blogging, podcasting, viral video, content tagging, wikis, and additional interactive features.
Vendor deliverables
- Detailed production schedule with listed milestones
- Clearly defined Web redesign strategy
- A site audit of current site (including current information architecture and content inventory), college resources, and staffing
- Technology audit and technology strategy/technical specifications for hosting new CMS, non-CMS sites, database server(s), and multimedia content (audio, video, and digital assets)
- New design including original artistic elements, graphics, logos, wireframes, color palette, and three site design concepts
- Design standards and a plan for implementing them consistently
- Design and respective coding for homepage and interior, lower-level pages
- Design and coding for specialty sites: admission, NHIOP, academics, academic departments, athletics, library, Dana Center, Chapel Art Center, news, campus calendar, campus map, and virtual tour
- Style guide
- Redesign project/client site for tracking project deliverables, status, and reporting bugs.
Web redesign projects of this size are typically broken out into five stages
- Discovery - The “get to know us” phase. This phase is all about gathering data about the college as well as our current Web presence. The vendor will visit the campus for two or more days, meet with groups across campus, survey college constituents, gather any completed market research we’ve done, review existing print publications and college competitors, among other areas
- Strategy - The discovery phase informs the strategy phase. A comprehensive plan is put together outlining our approach to the redesign, including content, approaches to information architecture, technology, messaging, among other details
- Design - The strategy phase informs the design phase. During this phase, design comps are created for the home page and interior pages. Focus groups and acceptance testing are used to identify issues and opportunities with the designs
- Build - During the build phase, all the pieces come together: technology, design, information architecture (site navigational structure), and content (text, images, multimedia). Existing content from the current site’s CMS is migrated into the new CMS
- Testing and deployment - During this phase the site is run through quality assurance testing as well as usability testing to catch issues before launch. After QA testing is complete the site is publicly launched.
Redesigning anselm.edu
The Web Team has spent much of the late spring pulling together a draft Web redesign request for proposal (RFP). The RFP outlines many of the college’s current needs and challenges relating to its public Web presence. It also articulates some of our vision for the college Web site looking into the future.
An advisory group has been formed representing offices from across campus. The group will review and offer feedback on the proposal before its mailed to interested Web firms on July 1.
In the coming months, we will use this blog to provide updates to the campus community on the progress of the redesign project. We also invite you to use this site to supply us with feedback and what’s on your mind.