May 16, 2003
Contact: Jesse Days (509-963-2810/fax 509-963-2301/e-mail: daysj@cwu.edu)
ELLENSBURG, Wash. - Central Washington University’s Web site
(www.cwu.edu) is being revised and renewed as part of the university’s
new integrated marketing plan.
“The goals of the new site are to raise visibility and to
increase student interest in Central, and to serve as an even better
communication tool for students and faculty,” Jesse Days, CWU Web
developer, says. “We need to modernize the site to fit with the times.”
When the present site went online more than four years ago,
it was getting about 30,000 hits monthly. The number of visits is now
one million a month, according to Days.
This week, CWU administrators and the campus Web consultant reviewed a
newly-developed “Beta site.”
Implementation of the new elements is expected to begin next
week and continue for about a year and will include conversion of
18,000 pages now in use. Development of the site has involved a team
of faculty, staff and administrators who have offered input on the
look-and-feel of the site, along with technical issues, navigation and
accessibility.
CWU graphics productions created new Web-page templates for
the home page, administration pages, college and department pages,
sub-departmental and text-only pages.
Three full-time employees are now assisting Days in site
conversion while three student interns are charged with routine
maintenance of the current site.
When fully implemented, Days says the new Web site will be
more user-friendly, compatible with Federal law on accessibility and a
marketing draw for new students.
