Chancellor Announces Committee on NC State Web Page Redesign

Feb. 20, 2006

Chancellor James L. Oblinger has appointed a universitywide committee to evaluate, plan and redesign the www.ncsu.edu home page and a number of the top tier sub-pages linked to the home page.

The goal of the project is to improve the usability, content and physical appearance of the “core” Web site for the university. The home page averages nearly 3 million hits per month and represents an important opportunity to communicate NC State’s strengths and to offer accessible information to a variety of audiences.

The Web Advisory Committee, composed of faculty, staff, students and alumni, will actively seek input and feedback from the university community throughout the redesign project, making use of a blog to solicit comments and ideas. You can keep track of the project and provide input at www.ncsu.edu/redesign. Prototypes of the possible page designs will be posted for comment and usability testing will be done throughout the process, which is expected to take at least six months.

Oblinger has charged this committee with developing an improved site that will offer additional dynamic content for both the home page and an assortment of sub-tier pages, and use emerging technologies to make the site reflect the character of NC State as a leader in teaching, research and public service. A key goal of the project also will be to ensure that visitors can find the information they need when visiting the Web site.

An online survey to assess usability issues relating to the current site is available at www.ncsu.edu/redesign/websurvey, which has been designed to give the committee valuable input on elements of the current home page that might be improved. Survey participants have a chance to win two tickets to the ACC Tournament by completing the survey.

-30-