UVic website makeover targets external audience
The UVic website is getting an overhaul. For the past several months, the combined resources of UVic Communications, Marketing Services, Student Recruitment, and Computing and System Services have been applied to redesign and restructure UVic’s central web presence.
Starting Jan. 17, you can take a look at development currently under way from a link on the UVic home page.
The redesign represents a new approach to the university’s web presence. In keeping with UVic’s strategic direction, the website will now do a better job of representing the institution to the rest of the world by focusing on what makes this place special and by inviting our communities to participate in life at UVic. The main home page image showcases UVic students, faculty and staff to reflect our strengths, and new features such as blogging are being implemented to encourage audience feedback.
The site also aims to answer several frequently asked questions. Typically these come from the prospective students who regularly visit the site to discover UVic. Their questions often concern the application process or ask what it is like to be on the campus. Try the new Virtual Experience (linked from the Tours section) to see some of the attractions that focus groups have said make this university especially inviting.
What does this mean for the student, faculty or staff member who is already accustomed to using the existing home page? Most of the information you have had access to is still easily available: click on Students, Faculty and Staff to find a page customized for you. Although many of the familiar resources from the home page, such as A-Z index, Maps and Buildings, and Search Directories, are still going to be there, this new page is designed to make it easier to find most common internal resources quickly. This page also provides direct access to the uSource portal and introduces you to customizing the interface. Give it a try — tutorials are provided.
The web team wants to know what you think of the new site. Send feedback to webcoor@uvic.ca while implementation is being completed and help make the site even better. Expect to see the new site as the UVic default website in early February.
