Minutes (May 31, 2006) Web Advisory Committee
Present: Dr. Alison Beck, Heather Cura, Dr. Keith Krolick, Debbie Valle, Tom Raymond, Alan Miller, Dr. Frank Stafford,
Julie Newberry, Doug Hartzler, Mary Yanes, and Jim Barrett.
The chair, Dr. Alison Beck, called the meeting to order. Committee members approved the April 26 minutes.
Jim Barrett gave the webmaster's report. He said:
- Server traffic in April rose 18 percent, to 2,004,709 page views.
- He had spoken to the UTHSCSA Virtual Advisory Committee about SharePoint, a Microsoft software product, and how
it compares to UTHSCSA Virtual.
- Results of a new survey about the university's "worst forms" indicate that respondents want
forms they can save on their desktop computer.
- Doug Hartzler had information on the inside.uthscsa portal upgrade. Mr. Hartzler provided
details, and said it would be in production June 18. He said he would send
the members the URL of the site now under development.
Dr. Keith Krolick said he wanted to elaborate on UTHSCSA Virtual and SharePoint. Dr. Krolick, who is a member of the UTHSCSA
Virtual committee, said he sees a need for better communication between organizations
in the university, particularly when they select software for widespread use. Others on the committee
also commented and a wide-ranging discussion ensued for about 30 minutes.
In old business, Dr. Beck asked the committee to consider printouts of proposed changes to the web-use policies in
the Handbook of Operating Procedures. Mr. Barrett said he had drafted changes to reorganize sections and update
some passages. He said Dr. Frank Stafford had read the proposals and suggested some changes. Dr. Stafford said
aside from the changes, the committee probably needs to define some policy issues. He said, as an example, the committee
ought to decide whether to retain the existing definition of "official" web pages. Dr. Beck said time was running short, and she asked Mr. Barrett
to incorporate any new changes for the committee to review at its next meeting.
Dr. Beck said language in proposed new state guidelines on web accessibility had changed, and asked Mr. Barrett to explain them.
Mr. Barrett said the most significant change gives state institutions more leeway in dealing with pages
that do not meet accessibility standards. He said the guidelines
now are written such that an institution with non-compliant pages could provide an "accommodation" to
a web user who can't use the page. Earlier, the rules did not specify that accommodations
are acceptable, and instead suggested that an institution seek an "exception" to the law for pages it knew
were non-compliant, Mr. Barrett said.
There was no other business, and the meeting was adjourned.
-- Minutes prepared by Jim Barrett
-- Approved July 26, 2006
