Alice Bennet
Gerry Butterworth
Jennifer Castillo
Kelly Bowron
Web site proposal
Presented on 13 April 2005
Departmental Mission and Goals of the English Graduate Program
Web Site
The mission of the EMU English graduate studies
department is to provide students with educational experiences
which will prepare them to apply broad humanist philosophies to
challenges of contemporary society. This mission is best realized
when the department actively partners with students to insure
academic success. Essential to student success is a departmental
commitment to provide students with information necessary to make
informed choices when plotting their course of study. If this
commitment is to be meaningful, it must be made with the understanding
that students do not just participate in the educational process
, but also participate in a larger society as parents, children,
spouses, employees, or employers - roles which place competing
demands upon their time and attention. The challenge then lies
in finding efficient, easily accessible ways to give students
such information.
Maintaining a department web site is one way to
meet this challenge.
With this mission in mind, we conceived our site to disseminate
information. First of all, we wanted to make a site which contained
the items normally considered to be within the scope of a departmental
website. But we felt that if this site was to be truly compatible
with the departmental mission, we needed to anticipate what problems
students and faculty might encounter when trying to get their
questions answered. We saw that the department site needed to
function as a springboard to problem-solving information beyond
the realm of pure academics. Therefore, the primary goal of this
site is to anticipate problems from a proactive stance, and supply
information that could solve those problems.
As we made decisions about the nature of students’ problems
and how our site could help, we became aware of another goal.
We wanted the site to look good to the outside world, and to show
the Graduate English department at Eastern Michigan University
in its best light. To do this, the finished site should have appeal
that is both functional and aesthetic. It should feature an uncomplicated
navigation scheme. It should follow a design format that allows
room for future expansion, yet be relatively simple to maintain
if it is to remain a good future resource.
The site designed by our group reflects these goals in a number
of ways. The conventional types of departmental information are
prominently displayed in the left side bar on all pages, as this
arrangement appears consistent with the expectations of most viewers.
The order of the links are place according to how we envisioned
they would be used. For example, it’s logical that new users
would first want to know about the various programs offered, so
it’s in the first slot. Users may or may not need contact
information, so it appears in smaller text below the side bar.
We opted to forgo a link to departmental news, although this is
a common feature on many of the English department pages that
we researched. Departmental news pages often require frequent
updates which could prove burdensome if resources for site maintenance
are limited. A display of outdated news items looks like either
no one is doing anything anymore, or no one cares enough about
the site or its audience to keep it updated. Outdated news could
also cause readers to mistrust the validity of other site information
as well. In place of news, we included a page on “Events”
such as upcoming conferences and scheduled departmental activities.
Since these things are scheduled in advance, this type of content
would require less updating than would news pages.
Providing general information is a useful endeavor, but the drawing
power and usefulness of the site depend upon its ability provide
information that will solve the user’s problems. The first
step toward making our site a problem solver was to differentiate
solutions which required information only, from those that required
production of something tangible. Solutions which require filling
out forms are a good example of the latter. Forms are a universal
reality for current and prospective students alike. By including
the “Forms” link in the left side bar on each page,
the site allows the user to download desired forms without having
to delve through more text-heavy informational pages.
Problems such as that of how to get forms seem to cut through
all groups, but many problems are more specific to a particular
type of user. To enhance the problem solving potential of the
site, information was classified according to kind of user who
would be most likely to need it. Prospective students would certainly
be dealing with some different issues than would students currently
enrolled. Faculty members should not have to plow through a multitude
of student concerns in order to get their questions answered.
The audiences this site was designed around will be discussed
more fully later in this proposal. The final goal of our site
frankly involves packaging and presentation. The design should
serve the purpose of the site, or at least not distract from the
site’s ability to achieve its main goals. Unnecessary “bells
and whistles” such as animation or excessive graphics would
take the focus away from content, so our group employed a relatively
simple layout, consistently using colors and banners to unify
individual pages throughout the site. There are not a lot of graphics
that will need to be rearranged, should it become necessary to
expand the site in the future. The images used contain subject
matter that portrays facilities and grounds consistent with those
of a modern university. The result is a site whose design reflects
well upon the department, anticipates its users needs, and gives
information in a straight- forward fashion.
We see the informational, problem-solving functions of this site
as ones that should continue into future use. How this site evolves
will depend upon the depth of resources devoted to it, so at this
point, there are only suggestions and possibilities. One avenue
to explore is the possibility of creating space to showcase student
and\or faculty projects of interest. Such space could include,
but would not necessarily be limited to publications, studies,
or presentations. It might also be worthwhile to provide venues
for discussing or commenting on such projects via on-line chat
groups, blogs, or similar devices. Although expansion in this
direction would involve extra upkeep on the site, the potential
payoffs would be the reenforcement of the concept of a learning
community which transcends individual course levels, allowing
the opportunity for interaction between individuals whose paths
may not cross otherwise.
This type of information would also provide a way for prospective
students to become excited about the current scholarship being
pursued in our programs. It would let them know about important
events like the Graduate Research Fair that they might be interested
in using to display their own research. Enrollment is down, and
attracting new students to our programs has to be one of the main
priorities. While it may require more maintenance, the benefits
of presenting an exciting and positive image of our programs to
prospective students could far outweigh the cost associated with
that extra effort.
Another area of possible development involves linking to appropriate
and feasible sites outside of the university. For example, students
who are new to the area may have questions about the community
which could best be addressed by outside links. Taking the site
in this direction would involve a consensus on what might would
qualify as appropriate links, as well as some well supported research
about the benefits of this practice. While this type of expansion
could prove unworkable for the immediate future, the possibilities
should be considered.
Audience:
While there is no way to know exactly who will
use this Web site, or for what purpose, we think the site should
be designed around the purposes of the English graduate program
listed above, such as the ability to provide answers and problem-solving
solutions specific to the needs of those that use the site. With
that in mind, we have organized the site to focus on three main
groups of people: Prospective Graduate Students, Current Graduate
Students, and Faculty.
Once we organized the users into groups with specific needs, we
decided that grouping these users in second tier pages would be
a logical and efficient arrangement. This way, users don’t
have to pick through a list of items that aren’t relevant
to their situations. Issues that require input from outside links,
such as that to financial aid information are placed here, because
we felt that this is when most readers would be ready to receive
it. In other words, by the time they needed to know about financial
aid opportunities, they would have made preliminary decisions
about their course of study. They would have already learned a
little about the requirements of the graduate English department
programs (as specified in the handbook), and would now be either
enrolled or considering enrolling.
Identifying information and displaying information according to
user also serves a proactive approach. Often those who need information
aren’t immediately aware that they need it. Prospective students,
for example, might not have thought much about housing, but seeing
the link on the Prospective Student page will not only remind
them that they need to know what their options are, but also make
it convenient for them to find out.
Contextualized Links:
We have kept the design of the site simple, so that whether the
user is a novice to the internet, or an experienced surfer, the
site will be easy to navigate. We have looked at sites from schools
like Ball State, Arizona State, Boston College, and San Francisco
University. We have chosen names for pages and links that are
conventional among college programs, so that most users will experience
a sense of familiarity and confidence in using the site from the
first visit. For example, initially we wanted to label the three
main links “Prospective Graduate Students”, “Graduate
Students”, and “Faculty”, but “Graduate Students”
could be confusing. Prospective students might have to think about
which link they should choose, and users should not have to think
about navigation. Instead, their focus should be on the content
within the site that they are seeking.
This may not seem like a significant problem, but Steve Krug,
a well-known expert in Web site usability, says about users:
...as a rule, people don’t like to puzzle over how to do
things. The
fact that the people who built the site didn’t care enough
to make
things obvious - and easy - can erode our confidence in the site
and
its publishers. (Don’t Make Me Think, 15)
Consistent Navigational Cues:
To continue to maintain our users confidence, we have designed
each page to have certain design aspects that stay the same. The
box across the center assures users that even as they link from
page to page, they continue to remain within Eastern Michigan
University’s English Graduate Program’s Web site. The
links along the left-hand side also remain the same from page
to page. These are links we feel are common to each audience,
and will be needed most often. Rather than repeat these links
on each page, we have included them as a consistent border for
quick access at any point in a users travels.
Krug says, “Done right, persistent navigation should say
- preferably in a calm, comforting voice: ‘The navigation
is over here. Some parts will change a little depending on where
you are, but it will always be here, and it will always work the
same.’” (62)
We don’t want users to feel lost or confused about where
they are, and we wanted to make it easy for them to find their
way back to where they began. The links will visually make users
aware of what page they are currently viewing, and each page will
link back to the English Graduate Program home page, as well as
Eastern Michigan University’s home page.
An emerging convention among Web sites is that the site logo doubles
as a link to the home page. We have not done this in our template,
but it is a possibility that might further promote the ease of
use encouraged by conventions. (Krug 66)
Meeting the Audience Needs:
The home page will focus on the needs of the general audience.
These shared needs will continue to be acknowledged through maintaining
a list of general links along the left-hand side of every page
(except forms, which will most likely be in PDF format) that will
be meaningful to all three audiences. Those links will provide:
! Quick access to the home page, so users risk little time by
exploring the site
! Quick access to the main home page for Eastern Michigan University
! Quick access to the English department home page
! A link to events, such as conferences and research fairs, that
could be of interest to all users
! A link to forms that might need to be accessed by students already
aware of what they need, or available for faculty to provide for
students they are advising
! A link to the programs offered by the English graduate department
! A link to the graduate handbook
We have designed the second tier pages of the site to focus on
information and links specific to the needs of the different groups
previously mentioned.
The third tier pages will not include pictures in an attempt to
leave more room for detailed information specific to these audiences.
These pages could include things like FAQ pages for each audience
that might help answer questions quickly, or help users to become
aware of things they didn’t realize they needed to know.
Content:
When our group was considering the types of things that EMU's
English Department should have on its web site, we first took
some time to look at what other universities were doing. One site
that influenced the subsequent work we did was the site for the
English Department at Arizona State University (http://www.asu.edu/english/index.html).
In thinking about the basic principles of Technical Communication
we have all discussed in this program, probably the most significant
recurring theme has been the idea that one must tailor one's work
to a specific audience. No writing is done in a vacuum; everything
we do as technical communicators requires us to adapt our work
to the needs of the people who will eventually be reading what
we write. We adapted ASU's approach when we divided our web site
into three sections; one section relates to the concerns of prospective
graduate students, one section is geared towards currently-enrolled
students and the third is there to serve the faculty. Each of
these three main categories of users will be directed to parts
of the site we feel would be of greatest interest to them, and
each section would have its own "Frequently Asked Questions"
page that could be easily developed based on informal surveys
of what different undergraduate students, graduate students and
faculty members say they would find most useful in a departmental
web site.
Prospective students:
The function of a web site for prospective students is two-fold.
While the prospective student is going to want certain types of
information related to the nuts and bolts of doing business with
the University, the web site is also going to function as part
of the University's marketing. Someone who may have already made
up their mind to attend EMU's Graduate English program, or who
has narrowed her choices down to EMU and another school or two
may well be swayed by what they see online. If forms are easy
to get at, the site is easy to understand and follow, and that
potential student's questions get answered with a minimum of frustration,
the web site has successfully fulfilled its mission as a practical
source of information for the prospective student. In our proposed
version of the graduate school's web site, we have determined
that the most important things a prospective student is going
to want to know about are answers to questions pertaining to advising,
the application process, financial aid and housing options. Each
of these four areas of concern have their own subsections in the
overall site plan in the "Prospective Students" category
of web pages. We also chose to include a link to the virtual tour
that is already part of Eastern's site as a way to help people
new to Ypsilanti get acquainted with the campus.
Currently-enrolled students:
Currently-enrolled students are going to have some questions and
concerns similar to those of new or prospective students, though
certainly some of their concerns will be unique. The "Current
Students" section of our proposed website is designed to
meet the needs of that particular audience. A student's questions
about and concerns regarding financial aid do not evaporate once
enrolled, so we have chosen to make a link to financial aid information
part of the main "Current Students" web page as we had
with the "Prospective Students" page. We have also included
a link to information regarding deadlines. Dates by which a student
has to have all of her financial aid paperwork submitted, as well
as dates for submitting papers for faculty review could be included
here. This is the page where the student will find information
regarding important deadlines, what they are for, contact information
if more information is needed about a particular deadline, and
links to any forms the student will need.
Back on the main page of the "Current Students" section,
users will also find links to information pertaining to the concerns
of newly-enrolled graduate students. A "Faculty Listing"
link will take a user to a page of links that lead to the faculty
information page belonging to each of the department's five programs:
Children's Literature, Creative Writing, Linguistics, Literature
and Written Communications. Finally, there will be a page to help
graduate students find out more about what opportunities the English
Department offers for graduate students to get involved in, such
as graduate and teaching assistantships.
Faculty:
Our proposed web site will also have pages designed to meet the
needs of faculty. Here, instructors can find out about the meetings
and membership of the English Graduate committee. There will also
be a place for information related to faculty advising. Since
deadlines can be as much of a concern for an instructor as they
can be for a student, a link to deadline information is included
in the "Faculty" subsection of the site just as it is
in the "Current Student" section. It could have deadline
information geared specifically to the types of things of most
concern to faculty members.
Links in Common:
In our design of the Graduate School Web Site, each page has a
group of links along the side that would be useful to all three
types of users we expect would be using the site. A link to a
page about current department events is the first in this group
of links directly underneath the link for the site's home page.
Below that is a link to a page where the user can access the different
kinds of forms the department requires for its operations. Just
as it is now, we would still have a link to the Graduate Handbook
in pdf format. We would also keep the link that takes the user
to a page of links for the different program sites. Below that
group of links would be the pair of links for the English Department
home page and EMU's home page, keeping it connected to the online
presence of the Department and the University proper, and making
it relatively easy for anyone navigating the site to have a real
sense of the site's overall continuity.
Site Maintenance:
In order to keep the information on the website up-to-date and
to provide dynamic information to new and current students, it
is important that someone be placed in charge of the website.
If users come to the website and find broken links, outdated information,
or incorrect information, the user will not trust the information
on the site and will be unlikely to return to it. While it is
possible for more than one person to work on the site, having
a single person in charge will help to maintain a consistent feel
to the site and limit disagreements that will lead to nothing
really getting done. While the initial set up of the website will
require a person with advanced web design skills, if set up correctly,
the person responsible for maintaining the site need not be highly
advanced. However, the person maintaining the website should be
familiar with and, ideally, comfortable with web design on a basic
level.
The amount of time needing to be spent on the site will be determined
by content. For example, if a calendar is placed on the site,
more time will need to be spent to make certain that the calendar
is up to date—it would be better to not have a calendar than
to have an out of date one. Once the site is up and functioning,
a minimal amount of work should be necessary. Once a month, the
person would need to click through the site and make certain all
links were functioning and lead to functioning pages. Any dated
material would need to be kept up, such as events, changed deadlines,
and other items such as new forms, changing email addresses, and
etc. If this maintenance is not left for long periods of time,
it will be much easier, and quicker, to keep updated and will
keep the site an asset to the department.
One addition you might make to aid in maintenance is a link for
feedback, where users could contact the Web site supervisor to
alert him or her to problems experienced with the Web site. Responses
to user complaints should happen quickly, so this link should
go to the e-mail of the person chosen to maintain the site. If
there is not a consistent site supervisor, this link should not
exist, since there will be no consistency in response times.
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