Managing the Unmanageable web governance in higher education

Managing the Unmanageable web governance in higher education mark a. greenfield

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Mark Greenfield Higher ed web professional, consultant, keynote speaker, futurist, uwebd overlord, lacrosse coach, tennis player, music lover, dog rescuer markgr. com twitter. com/markgr delicious. com/markgr www. linkedin. com/in/markgr

True or False Most college web sites are bad?

University Website xkcd. com

How important is the Web for enrollment?

92% Will be disappointed or take a college off their list if they do not find what they need

24% Will REALLY take your school off their list because of a bad web experience

65% Will become more interested because of a positive experience on your site

The web is now mission critical

Higher Education: the toughest gig in all the web mark a. greenfield

Hi. PPO HIghest Paid Person’s Opinion

The Tipping Point • The web is now mission critical • higher education is getting flattened

Flattened When the impact of the internet and globalization render and industry unrecognizable, and in many cases, obsolete

“Most institutions can no longer afford to be what they’ve become”

44% believe that waste and mismanagement significantly factor into increasing college costs

We will need to become ruthlessly efficient

Moving Forward

Too often, campus leadership views the web as a cost center rather than as a strategic asset

Web Governance The authoritative administrative structures that set policy and standards for Web product management. It includes: • The implementation of a Web Governance Framework • The establishment of Web Policy • The codification, implementation, and enforcement of Web Standards - Lisa Welchman

Web Governance Deciding who gets to decide

“There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. ” - Peter Drucker

we do web committees all wrong

IT or Marketing

let there be web divisions

True Web Governance • Establishes authority and accountability

True Web Governance • Establishes authority and accountability • Defines the role of all campus units as it relates to the web and establishes how they will support web efforts

True Web Governance • Establishes authority and accountability • Defines the role of all campus units as it relates to the web and establishes how they will support web efforts • Involves senior leadership

True Web Governance • Establishes authority and accountability • Defines the role of all campus units as it relates to the web and establishes how they will support web efforts • Involves senior leadership • Involves line management

Web Strategy The translation of organizational objectives and values into high-level management directives for the web - Lisa Welchman

Why do you have a website?

The web is first and foremost an enrollment tool

Web Strategy A successful Web Strategy achieves two results: 1. Guiding Principles ‐ describe how the organization will use the Web to support the organization’s core values and business objectives 2. Formalization of Authority – ensures that authority for Web Governance, Web Execution and Web Measurement are clearly articulated and properly resourced

Without Web Strategy

The web is thought of as a collection of micro-sites rather than a single entity. Academic departments and administrative units think they have their own sites rather than being part of a larger web presence.

The Entire Site Matters!

Usability suffers because visitors expect a unified web presence and instead find a site that is graphically diverse and difficult to navigate.

There are no articulated, measurable goals making it difficult to measure the ROI of web efforts.

With everyone doing their own thing, there are resource inefficiencies result in wasting time and money.

Institutional Strategy Communications Strategy Content Strategy Web Strategy IT Strategy Social Media Strategy

Web Execution The definition, coordination, and support of all the tactics required to produce and maintain a high-quality web presence.

Web Execution effective, efficient management of daily web operations.

Is your site sustainable?

The Web Is Not a Project

Web Measurement Measure both web metrics and business metrics

Concluding Thoughts

True Web Governance • Establishes authority and accountability • Defines the roll of all campus units as it relates to the web and establishes how they will support web efforts • Provides the appropriate level of resources • Involves senior leadership • Involves line management • Involves the entire campus • Establishes Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s) • Is not a one-off process

Web Governance Is Your Friend

Implementing a CMS without governance is like building a bridge to nowhere

Find the delicate balance between autonomy and accountability.

2011: The Year of Web Governance (in Higher Education) #hewebgov

webgovernance. com Coming August 2011

Thank You mark a greenfield markgr. com twitter. com/markgr delicious. com/markgr