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Higher Ed Rocks Confab: Web Governance at Normandale

By Rick Allen and Georgy Cohen on May 22, 2012

On the second day of Confab, Normandale Community College’s Lynne Figg took the stage to talk about how her college undertook a web governance initiative to address content ownership and quality issues.

We interviewed Figg and colleagues Mary Krugerud and Matthew Crawford about the project:

Below is our Storify of tweets from the session:

Normandale Community College Case Study: How governance changed our website

Lynne Figg, Web Architect, Normandale College, presented on this topic at Confab 2012 on May 16.

Storified by Meet Content · Wed, May 16 2012 17:03:01

undefinedTrying to maintain content quality on any website can feel like a losing battle. Who owns the website? Who owns the content? With many su…
A session strictly on web governance. An essential piece of content strategy equation. And presenter is in #highered. Let’s go! #confab12Joel Dixon
The session began with some reassurance.
There is no wrong place to be in your governance journey. Lynn Figg. #confab12meghscase
What is governance?
Governance: provides the structures which will help produce high-quality websites." -Welchman #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Normandale undertook a major governance initiative, which had its share of challenges.
Normandale commandment: Thou shalt create a web advisory committee. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Committee challenges: lack follow-through on strategy, hierarchy clashes, membership not strategic, decisions overlap. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Challenges at Normandale: fear of change, isolated initiatives, conflicting experiences. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Yep, governance can be scary sometimes.
The word "committee" frightens me. #confab12Melissa Allen
But turning away users with crappy content is even scarier.
If you can’t look at a website and know within 3 secs what it’s about, it’s a bad website. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Assess your climate: who values your website? Where’s the money trail? Who has budget? #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
How do you make a web governance committee work?
We decided that our committee needed a neutral chair. Knowledgeable abt web & campus. But like Switzerland, neutral. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Committee charge: communicate w/stakeholders, approve policies & guidelines, determine format, function & content. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Governance documents: social media guide, style guide, responsibility matrix, policy, web publishing guide. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Lynne Figg says "We have over 75 content contributors" like that’s a lot. Sigh… #confab12 #bumming #higheredJessica Franken
Policy put in place to ensure that publishing is professional, consistent, and reflects mission & image. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Web publishing guideline lays out: rationale, roles & responsibilities, structure & governance. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
"We all work for the same team. We want consistent presence." #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
We use an agenda to stay focused during committee meetings. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Lynne Figg says: have an IT person on the board. Someone who cares about web. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Q: How often does your governance committee meet? A: 1.5 hours 1 time per month. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Don’t create delays by canceling your governance meetings. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Q: Do you certify your 75 contributors? A: We’re wrestling with this still. We’ll have in-house trainer soon. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Q: Why committee? A: Most people think web is marketing domain. But all depts are contributing! Need more input. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
We changed "curriculum" to "courses offered." Students don’t go…"Hmm, what curriculum do I want…?" #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis
Q: How do you get a committee consensus? A: We sometimes take a vote. Sometimes leadership expedites decisions. #highered #confab12Gigi Griffis

Thanks, Gigi Griffis, for being our unwitting ace correspondent at this session!

More Confab 2012 coverage

  • Recap: Takeaways for Higher Ed
  • Interview: Margot Bloomstein and Colleen Jones on Higher Ed Content Strategy
  • Higher Ed Rocks Confab: Engaging Content at Indiana University

Filed Under: Archive Tagged With: confab12

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About Rick Allen and Georgy Cohen

Rick Allen has worked in higher education for over twelve years, helping to shape web communications and content strategy. As principal of ePublish Media, a web publishing consultancy in Boston, Mass., Rick works with knowledge-centric organizations to create and sustain effective web content.

Georgy Cohen is associate creative director, content strategy, at OHO Interactive, a digital agency based in the Boston area. Previously, she worked in content roles at Tufts University, Suffolk University, and her independent consultancy to higher ed, Crosstown Digital Communications.

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