The University Record, June 11, 1997
New Web gateway page to debut
By Julie Peterson
News and Information Services
The University’s WorldWide Web home page will sport a completely new look beginning this month.
A Web steering committee representing a broad range of campus units and headed by Carol Kamm, Information Technology Division (ITD), worked throughout the academic year to redesign the site. The actual graphic design was done by Sandy Ackerman and Doug Heavrin-Brown of ITD.
“Our major goal was to make our Web gateway more attractive, more inviting and more functional, so that individuals ranging from faculty to alumni to prospective students can easily find the kinds of information they’re seeking,” Kamm says. “We also wanted to create a structure that would bring together a variety of campus information resources in the hopes of avoiding duplication wherever possible.”
The new Web site is structured by audience, rather than by administrative unit. Many campus resources will be linked in from more than one location, Kamm notes. For example, both prospective students and current students may be interested in housing information. Prospective students as well as visitors may want to find campus maps and directions to campus locations.
In addition, three major segments of campus—the academic units, intercollegiate athletics and health care resources—will each have a link from the main page. A new feature will highlight current news about the University with links to stories and pictures from campus publications.
Due to the extensive reorganization, Kamm notes, some second- and third-level pages have been renamed, removed, and new ones created, which may cause browser bookmarks to no longer function.
Arriving at the same time as the new Web home page will be a greatly expanded search capability. ITD and the University Library have worked together to develop a much more thorough catalog of the University’s Web resources that will allow information seekers to conduct a more detailed and individualized search.
The committee is eager to hear from University units who have information resources and ideas about how those resources can fit into the new gateway structure, Kamm says. To share feedback about the new design, message [email protected]. Requests for additional links can be posted using the online form at http://www.umich.edu/Gateway/UM-AddForm.html. To submit suggestions for news items to be featured, send a message to Julie Peterson, News and Information Services, at [email protected]. The University’s home page can be found at http://www.umich.edu/.
