Have you ever tried to find something on the MIIS website only to be given a PDF campus map as a search result? You’re not alone and hopefully now those days are over! The www.miis.edu website now has incorporated a google search function into the website.
Little known fact: MIIS actually is running 5 separate websites – the main site and one for each school. With our old search function, you had to be on the right site to find what you needed. Searching for language programs in the Fisher site would have produced less than ideal results. Our old search function also seemed to give priority to PDFs and menu items rather than actual pages. The google search function now covers all of our sites and has the google relevancy to help prioritize our search results.
Thanks to Chris Norris and his staff at Middlebury for sharing their Google Search Appliance with us, configuring it to index our sites, and writing the code to make it all run.
In a recent google webinar, it was reported that 50% of the duke.edu web users were using the search function in place of the menu navigation. This new search function should allow our constituents the ability to find what they need more easily and tap into the google search habits of digital natives (aka most of our students). The google search function also allows for all google search conventions and has an advanced search function where you can search by program, sort by date, or narrow your search.
This is part of a larger website redesign project that a dedicated group of MIIS staff and faculty members have been working on since November. To see what we’ve been up to, check out our wiki space.
If you’re interested in giving more feedback about the website or joining our group, contact Lynn McDonald
You guys are the best! This is terrific news!