Ellen Kronen, Website Redevelopment, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore NSW 2480, Australia. ekronen@scu.edu.au
Website, development, change, management, design, intranet, database, online, systems, personalisation, integration, world wide web, information management, portal
Since the start of a major redevelopment of the Southern Cross University website in late 1998, the impact this redevelopment is having on our organisation is substantial, and is a driving force behind many new developments. Change management has become a major focus, both in terms of encouraging staff and students to use the technology to find the information they need, or to do specific tasks, but also in terms of staff and to a lesser extent, students, to develop web based systems in favour of paper based ones. Many database developments have been imlemented, eg better searches of the site, easier maintenance of core information; and the establishment of workflow systems. A ‘tour’ of some of these new developments will be presented, along with some information about the development process and plans for the future.
Southern Cross University established its web site in early 1994 and it was one of the first University web sites in Australia. At that time there were relatively few web sites around the world.
Since that time, an upgrade of the site occurred in late 1994, and again in 1996. No one group was identified and charged with overall responsibility for the site, nor were there any clear guidelines or policy for its maintenance or a clear direction for future development. A major redevelopment commenced in late 1998, and this project continues through to the end of 2000.
The initial proposal for the redevelopment stated that "the existing … web site be redeveloped to a standard consistent with the best Australian University web sites … to establish new facilities on the web site in readiness for the first online courses."
The subsequent impact this redevelopment is having on our organisation is substantial, and is a driving force behind many of the new developments. Not only are new services being implemented to encourage changes in business processes and to provide a full range of online services for staff and students, but change is also occuring in the way the development is being planned and implemented by the IT teams involved. Contributors (ie: staff and students) are now realising the possibilities of what can be delivered and achieved by using the Web to its fullest potential. Users of the site are now expecting a full range of facilities and services to be available.
For those who are familiar with Greek mythology, the experience has been like working with the Hydra – the nine-headed dragon that had the power to grow two heads when one was destroyed. Perseverance, courage and continuity of purpose, combined with incessant toil were necessary to conquer the beast. The project managers' task is not dissimilar in that for all the progress achieved, many other issues are highlighted which must be resolved in order to provide a seamless range of services and facilities.
The redevelopment of the web site must also be viewed in the context of a year of massive redevelopment to key information systems across the organisation including the implementation of new finance, staffing and student administration systems, along with a major network upgrade across all campuses. The development and implementation of exclusively online courses has further increased the complexity of new initiatives for Southern Cross.
It has also had an impact in terms of who owns the site, who maintains the site, what we’re going to do with the technology, and how it’s going to be managed after this project has been completed.
Change management has become a major focus of the project, both in terms of encouraging staff and students to use the technology to find the information they need, or to do specific tasks (eg: ordering software or looking up grades), but also in terms of staff and to a lesser extent, students, to consider web based systems in favour of paper based ones. This has raised a number of issues such as ownership of the single authoritative source of information for student or course information, and how this information is disseminated to a variety of other sources, eg: CourseInfo, course and unit databases, etc. The issue of how much of this information should be available to which audiences (and how they’re authenticated to view it) is also being resolved.
The change in attitude was slow to begin with, which was to be expected, but is gaining ‘critical mass’ as more and more opportunities are presented. Over the last 18 months, the Project has initiated development of many new web-based systems which are currently used in tandem with existing paper-based systems. Web-based system development will continue, and in some areas there is much support for these to replace existing paper-based systems. The project has also identified other key areas for development which include:
The original website has been redefined and we now have three distinct websites: corporate (public); staff intranet; and student intranet.
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| The original site, early 1998. | The current home page, currently being redefined |
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| Student Intranet for Semester 1, 2000 which is currently being redeveloped to provide a personalised experience for students. | The existing staff intranet which is targetted for redevelopment during the second half of 2000. |
In addition to updating and expanding core information provided in the ‘corporate’ website we have also restructured the site and created a more robust infrastructure. We have initiated many database developments to allow for better searches of the site, easier maintenance of core information; and the establishment of workflow systems. These developments currently implemented include (but are certainly not limited to):
Systems also implemented (available via the staff and/or student intranet) include:
A major focus of the current phase of the Project is the implementation of CourseInfo (Blackboard) and its integration with the Student Intranet, utilising a range of technologies and implementation of a robust technical architecture. This will allow more functionality to the site, give students a better range of services, and provide staff and students with a robust environment for the delivery of online courses. Each student will have their own personalised and dynamic portal, giving access to their units, tasks, calendar and various online forums and unit (class) discussions boards. This work is currently being tested and will be available for students from Semester 2, 2000.
A ‘tour’ of some of these new developments will be presented, along with some information about the development process and plans for the future.
Ellen Kronen © 2000. The author assigns to Southern Cross University and other educational and non-profit institutions a non-exclusive licence to use this document for personal use and in courses of instruction provided that the article is used in full and this copyright statement is reproduced. The author also grants a non-exclusive licence to Southern Cross University to publish this document in full on the World Wide Web and on CD-ROM and in printed form with the conference papers and for the document to be published on mirrors on the World Wide Web.
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