Stakeholder: Jack Byrne

Redo Contact: MS Costanza-Robinson

Currently, ES/EA/SI has a relatively low-tech site that includes text and photos on their page and has a variety of file types for download (powerpoint files of presentations, pdfs of reports and newsletters). This functionality needs to remain, but be expanded and improved upon. The current status of the site is due largely to limited personnel time dedicated to the website. A recent (1-year only) hire will have some role in introducing content and improvements. Requests and or plans for future functionality/technology include:

• Embedded video and/or audio (e.g., of the weekly ES Colloquium or other seminars)
• Better access (possible including standard reports) to better web-use statistics
• Ability to easily form Listservs or groups that specifically include non-Midd addresses (not just built within Outlook) and the ability to generate an email newsletter to the listserv participants; people should be able to subscribe and unsubscribe.
• Training / portal functions
• Tagging/aggregating/approving sustainability information from across the website (athletics, EA, SI, IS) and feed it to the ES/EA/SI site
• Add ability to accept online submission of grant proposals (see URO stakeholder report for more on this requirement)
• Add searchable archive of ES/EA/SI funding (proposals/reports from previous grant awards) or perhaps of Environmental Council minutes of meetings (see Faculty Council requirement document)
• Integration of databases across campus and web-output of data: for example Facilities has a lot of information (facility energy consumption, building occupants) that Jack needs. The current process includes too many file-type conversions and people involved in getting the right information. The data exist, but the searches/databases (Sightlines?) are not web-based. Obviously, permissions issues would be important here.
• The possibility for people to web-submit photos/ideas/text for the website for possible inclusion on the page.

Specific problems with the current site/CMS that were mentioned

• Tiny blue font
• CMS awkwardness – simplify direct editing of pages (uploading too many clicks, particularly when you upload the wrong file by accident, to remove that and upload the correct one takes far too many clicks; what you see (even in preview mode) isn’t always what you get)
• CMS editor permissions issues: student workers have historically done some of the content management for ES/EA/SI. Jack Byrne, as the person in charge of these areas, would like privileges to set-up/approve student permissions. Currently, the administrative hurdles here are time-consuming.
• Channel pages creating/editing: is it possible to reduce administrative bottlenecks
• Improve ability to edit CMS on Macs

Specific non-technological requests/thoughts for new site

• Increase EA/SI prominence on webpage (homepage?)
• Branding is important, but the flexibility of many templates would be helpful
• More training – existing training is good, but more could be useful on more topics