higher ed governance for the real world

Higher Ed Governance

for the Real World

@rdelaudeRachel DeLauder


What does it take to run a website?

“Many orgs identify their digital teams as only the hands-on resources that

design, write, and post web content on a daily basis. This narrow view reinforces the idea that digital is a tactical function

and not a strategic one.”— Lisa Welshman, “Managing Chaos”

From Managing Chaos by Lisa Welchman

Web reality in higher ed


Typical web structure leaves gapsFindings

Outdated org structures

Committee culture

Misunderstanding of web skills


Let’s take a closer look

Mixed-methods study

Online Survey• Web team roles, skills• Publishing process, workflow• Challenges, opportunities

1-on-1 Interviews• Web team structure,

resources• Editorial jurisdiction• Stakeholder relationships• Institutional culture• Training, assessments• Lessons learned


Survey participants

67%

Public 4-Year 2-Year Adult/Online

Private

55% 20%28% 11%


Job titles of survey participants


Job titles of survey participants

Practitioners 38%

Managers 31%

Leadership 31%


What is a “typical” web team?


Number of people on the web teamWeb Team

9+6-8

5

4

3

2

1Not much difference

Public/private

4-year/2-year

Site size


Common web team skillsWeb Team

CMS EntryEditingWriting

PhotoAnalytics

Graphic DesignSocial Media

IAFront End DevContent Mktg

SEOTaxonomy

AccessibilityBack End DevUsability Test

VideoPR

Digital Ads

0 25 50 75 100


Outsourced skillsWeb Team

Back End DevDigital Ads

VideoPhoto

Front End DevGraphic Design

SEOIA

AnalyticsUsability TestAccessibility

TaxonomyWriting

Content MktgPR

EditingCMS Entry

Social Media

0 17.5 35 52.5 70


How do they manage content?


Content management systemsContent Management

Terminal 4 8%Sitecore

8%

OmniUpdate 7%

Expression Engine 10%

Wordpress 13% Drupal

21%

Other 24%

Adobe 8%


Ongoing content maintenanceWeb Team

89%

Run analytics reports

75%

Send requests for

web updates

Delete unused pages

Content audits

Monitor site search logs

User testing

66% 62% 56% 31%


What are the common challenges?


The challenges of higher edChallenges

Quality, updated content

Staffing

Too many cooks

Disagree on web’s purpose

Training/web skills

Internal comm. issues

# of audiences

Measuring success

CMS sucks

Too much content

No respect!

Rebellion

Too slow

Pace of tech

Power struggles

$No

leadership support

Lack of ownership

“Too many @$#% cooks in the kitchen. Seriously. Everyone who has ever turned on a computer since the Commodore 64 thinks

they know how to do everything.” Higher ed’s content challenges

“The web team has very specialized knowledge that is used daily to

maintain the website. To think that anyone given a WYSIWYG editor can

write web content and maintain a website is demeaning and insulting.”

Higher ed’s content challenges


Struggles to find balance

“We incorporated an online coordinator system, which is mainly secretaries

making changes. They aren’t in the system enough to be confident, and don’t review

their websites or keep things updated. This was not a productive change for

anyone, and our website has failed due to it.”


“We’ve got a fairly good grip on the core content now, which is managed centrally, but a large

chunk is outside the central team. As a small central team, we don’t

have the time to support and guide those web authors.”



So, what did we learn?


Types of web teamsPatterns from the data

MarComm-based

Slick, graphic-heavy templates

Prioritized around business goals

Consistent branding and messaging

IT-based

Focused on workflows and permissions

Request-based updates

Page load times, accessibility


Types of web teamsPatterns from the data

Centralized

Consistent branding and messaging

Bottlenecks

Not enough staff to support everyone

Edge-case needs not met

Decentralized

Speedy updates

Autonomy

SME knowledge

Inconsistency

Poor-quality content

Silos


The challenges of higher edPatterns from the data

Quality, updated content

Staffing

Too many cooks

Disagree on web’s purpose

Training/web skills

Internal comm. issues

# of audiences

Measuring success

CMS sucks

Too much content

No respect!

Rebellion

Too slow

Pace of tech

Power struggles

$No

leadership support

Lack of ownership


The challenges of higher edPatterns from the data

Staffing

Politics

Not enough investment in

digitalLack of skills & experience

Misunderstanding of web’s power and

purpose


How can we fix it?

An ideal model?Patterns in the data


Ways people deal

Set up workflows based on stages of expertise, not org. structure

SMEs edit text, but web specialists build new pages, create layouts, add images

Edit access, but not publish permissions; built-in review stage

Outsourced hosting or content maintenance tasks, e.g., SiteImprove


1. You are not alone

“If I could go back, I’d be more proactive and empower people to be more excited about the web and their role in it…building those relationships, giving people a real understanding of your work and why it matters, and what they can do about it.”

— Web communications manager at a large university

Show them how it’s done



2. Set clear standards

Prioritizing web projects

Does it support org. goals?

What’s the ROI?

Is it urgent?

Are resources available?

Is it a mandate/compliance issue?

When was it requested?

Is it their “turn”?

Core Web Team Marketing Web Committee

Content Accuracy Responsible Consulted Informed

Content Style & Format Responsible Accountable Informed

Design Accountable Responsible Informed

Information Architecture

Responsible/Accountable Consulted Informed

Digital Strategy Responsible Consulted Accountable

Draw lines in the sand



3. Get support from the top

Infiltrate committee meetings


Take it up the ranks



4. Make it about the users

“I’ve worked in central IT and in marketing, and the thing

that was missing with both of those groups is nobody talked

about the user experience.”— Director of Website Services

Hand over the keys



5. Be patient

“We are a federated governance model; the central governing body doesn’t have

control over the states. In higher ed, consensus decision-making is the norm. We have to accept and work within that,

and get around the table.”— Web services director for provost’s

office

“It helps a lot to understand that change CAN happen. It’s all about finding the

motivation for people; they’ll get there, but they have to see how it affects them.

Sometimes you have to let academia be academia. But, if you show them you tried to

meet them halfway, they’ll come around.”

— Content strategist for large university and research institute


Start building your community:

@rdelaude [email protected]

#confabEDU

higher ed governance for the real world

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