Ashland

Setting the pace

As the KCTCS Web Services Initiative unfolded, dozens of people throughout the System were involved in making recommendations, performing research, and guiding the decisions made about how we could rebuild our web infrastructure. ACTC played a key role in these discussions, but we wanted to do even more.

When a new content management system (called Sitecore), was selected that would help us improve all public web sites throughout KCTCS, we had our opportunity. It was important for a college to be one of the first new web sites in order to help guide the way the new system was implemented. ACTC is that college. We'll be the first college in the System with a new web site built on the Sitecore platform, and we're very proud of that fact.

We had actual prospects and other visitors evaluate our web site some time back. What we learned is that we need to do a better job organizing content, providing online services, and improving the way we manage and present our content. Our site (like all KCTCS web sites, it turned out) was difficult to navigate. The content wasn't written in a way that spoke to our audiences. The graphic design wasn't appealing. While we weren't terribly pleased to hear all that, it didn't really come as a surprise either. But this evidence helped lead to a new web site designed to change all that.

A new direction

As we've said, ACTC is the first KCTCS college to undergo a transition to a System-wide content management system. That system, Sitecore, provides us with a single platform for managing and hosting all our public web sites. Why is that a good thing? Simply put, it allows our web sites to work seamlessly together, it allows local content experts to manage what shows up on the web, and it puts us in a position to build tools and services to meet our customer expectations.

But new software isn't the whole story when it comes to the new ACTC web site. We're also taking a new approach to the basics: identifying our audiences, creating a web site architecture that's easy to navigate, using graphic design that reflects both who we are and who our audience is, and writing content that speaks to our audience in language they understand. What you'll see with the new ashland.kctcs.edu then is a site that:

• Looks better because it employs research and best practices in web graphic design,
• Is easier to navigate because it is founded on solid information architecture principles,
• "Sounds" better, because much of the content has been rewritten in a style and tone that appeals to our audiences,
• And is geared toward our primary audience: current and prospective students.

What does this mean for me?

That really depends on who you are. If you're a prospective or current student, it means you'll find it easier to get to the information you need. If you're an employee of ACTC, it means the information you need for your audience is easier to find, and that you may even be maintaining that content on the web yourself. Sitecore makes that easy. For employees, it also means that much of the internally-oriented content on the ACTC web site will be moving to thePoint. Most of all though, the new site is going to allow us to provide better content and service all the way around, while improving the way we manage our web presence. We hope you'll agree that's a good thing.

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