[LINK] Why university web pages are often bad

[Antony Barry]

Begin forwarded message:
>
> From: Matthew Allen <M.Allen at exchange.curtin.edu.au>
> Date: 10 December 2004 11:02:56 AM
> To: link at anu.edu.au
> Subject: Why university web pages are often bad
>
>
> Dear all
>
> Richard's comments on the website are not nitpicking and I agree they
> reflect badly on Internet Studies when comparing the site to 
> professional
> ones (which we should be too, I know). When I can, I'll try to do 
> something
> about them. I would say that I don't think the site itself is 
> especially
> badly designed - ie the theme, the information structure - it's some 
> of the
> implementations and some historical 'creep' - the site hasn't been 
> revised
> in structure or approach since 2000. Basically it's a case of working 
> with
> what we've got.
>
> What I would say is that staff in Internet Studies are employed 
> principally
> to teach and research and, in the current funding climate for 
> universities,
> are hardpressed even to do those tasks. There are several initiatives 
> in
> Internet Studies we would like to pursue but we have shelved them so 
> that we
> can focus on teaching and research. It's a sad reflection on university
> culture at the moment that a program like Internet Studies (which is 
> quite
> unusual), with 20 PhD students, an innovative undergraduate degree 
> available
> for all through Open Universities Australia (with around 100 students 
> doing
> a BA Internet Studies), and a Graduate Internet Studies Program that 
> has
> been running online since 1999 (its first graduate was from the USA 
> and our
> administrative people couldn't understand why he didn't have a visa!), 
> is
> struggling financially - not because we don't attract students but 
> because
> of the appalling state of university funding.
>
> To put the problem in perspective: for the last 10 years, grants from 
> the
> commonwealth have not been indexed. Therefore the base funding which
> accounts for a large proportion of our income has, effectively, 
> declined
> each year through inflation and payrises. Imagine if you were still 
> being
> paid what you earned in 1994?
>
> There are no easy answers: I want the site better but must concentrate 
> on
> teaching the students we do have with less and less resources; I want 
> the
> site to be innovative (indeed I would prefer it to be an interactive
> community-type site like drupal.org) but am not allowed to use that 
> approach
> because the university won't permit open discussion; I want a 
> distinctive
> site but am being pressured to make it 'cookie-cutter' (ie just like
> everything in www.curtin.edu.au <http://www.curtin.edu.au> ); I want 
> to fix
> the problems (and thanks for the Mozilla tip especially) but there are 
> no
> technical staff to work with me who are not themselves overloaded.
>
> If it's any consolation, we have a very good reputation for teaching 
> and
> research. I guess I'll take the criticism in the constructive spirit 
> it is
> meant and wear it as the price for that reputation.
>
> *grin* - not feeling cranky....just a bit overwhelmed by it all.
>
> Dr Matthew Allen
> Associate Professor Internet Studies
> Associate Dean Teaching and Learning, Humanities
> Curtin University of Technology, CRICOS 00301J Australia
> m.allen at curtin.edu.au
> http://smi.curtin.edu.au/netstudies/allen.htm
> +61 8 92663511 (v) +61 8 9266 3166 (f)
> Vice-President, Association of Internet Researchers http://www.aoir.org
>
>
>
phone : 02 6241 7659 | mailto:me at Tony-Barry.emu.id.au
mobile: 04 1242 0397 | http://tony-barry.emu.id.au