Campus web management service moves to IET
Information and Educational Technology has assumed responsibility for the UC Davis web content management system (Web CMS), a service that helps the campus create and maintain consistent websites.
The service will continue much as before, offering the same features, training, and support.
Strategic Communications (then called University Communications) and IET co-founded the Web CMS in 2009. Strategic Communications transferred its share of the managing tasks to IET this July, following a review of the service as Web CMS administrator Rick Hill prepared to retire.
The realignment lets each department play to its strengths.
"[The work] continues to be a partnership, which it's always been. The change just shifts responsibilities to where they make the most sense," said Zak Edson, director of web and interactive communications for Strategic Communications.
"We're still heavily involved in standards and branding, and how best to achieve user needs through the CMS," he said. "The Web CMS service involves a lot of servers and backend maintenance. Really, it's infrastructure, and that's best managed by IET."
Web CMS Analyst Jessica Hayes has moved from Strategic Communications to IET. She remains the primary contact for new clients, users and sites, as well as for training and troubleshooting, said Shawn DeArmond, IET's web development supervisor. Web Developer Christian Coulon, already employed by IET, continues to program innovations and improvements to existing Web CMS features. Their main point of contact remains cmshelp@ucdavis.edu.
About 750 people across campus use the Web CMS to support 354 sites, as of July 21. "We've grown from 318 sites in February 2014," Hayes said. "We average about two or three new sites a week."
The Web CMS site lists several reasons to use the service, including:
- Common user experiences
- Shared techni cal expertise
- Access to campuswide best practices
- Better adherence to UC Davis brand, identity and Web standards
- Better compliance with University of California and federal accessibility policies