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WEBTEAM

Minutes (May 1, 2008) Web Advisory Committee

Present: Dr. Nedal Arar, Dr. Keith Krolick, Roseanne Hurst, Lynda Howell, Debbie Valle, Dr. Barry Norling, Tim Presley, Alan Miller, Rene Torres, Brian Bell, Lydia Leos, Kat Myers, Heather Cura, and Jim Barrett.

Dr. Nedal Arar, the chair, called the meeting to order. Committee members approved the April 2 minutes. Dr. Arar asked Jim Barrett to present the webmaster's report. He said:

  • The new Faculty Profiles web site will be opened to the public May 19. Mr. Barrett said three developers have tested the site's ability to provide .xml feeds of the information.
  • He attended the 2008 Accessibility Forum on Tuesday in Austin. He said two issues discussed included new specifications for HTML 5, and the widening use of anti-spam Captchas. Captchas are pictures of stylized letters and numbers that a web user must read and identify to enter a web site.
  • One of the two institutional web servers will be replaced over the next six weeks. Users will be notified of the change, and be allowed to verify their sites work properly on the new server before sites on the new server "go live," Mr. Barrett said.

In old business, the committee heard an update on web-site rebranding. Rene Torres said the Style and Usage Guide for publishers has been published. Mr. Barrett said publication of the new university homepage was waiting for photos that would be selected by the Office of External Affairs. Dr. Nedal suggested considering a survey to ask site users their opinion of the newly redesigned web site. Tim Presley said the survey may be premature. He said most questions he has received since redesigning the School of Medicine's site have centered on finding information rather than the web site's design.

In other business, Mr. Barrett gave members the results of a survey he sent to the committee and members of a listserv for university web publishers. The survey asked 10 questions about how they produce their sites, and what features they desire for the future. Training was a top priority for respondents. Committee members discussed the responses, and the idea of establishing "brown bag" lunchtime sessions to provide web-publishing training.

There was no other business, and the meeting was adjourned.

-- Minutes prepared by Jim Barrett

-- Approved July 3, 2008