Web Publishing
The university uses a decentralized approach to web content maintenance. The website is maintained by a network of section editors. Each college or department is responsible for keeping content in their web area current and relevant.
The website should only contain final published content, and each department should only publish material that is complete, accurate, updated, and ready for public consumption. All web content must also be compliant with accessibility rules and maintain the university’s brand standards for consistency.
In most cases, a college's primary audience is students — prospective or enrolled — and the secondary audience is the public. Most content that is intended for internal audiences, like processes for employees or details for specific student groups, should be posted in a location other than the public website (e.g., MyRaft).
Editing the website
A web section is any part of the website with its own top navigation or left side navigation, a landing page, and at least three other pages.
A section editor is a faculty or staff member appointed by their appropriate administrator (MPP) as the individual who will coordinate and process the publishing of content in one or more assigned web sections.
Assigning a section editor
Administrators who need to add a section editor or make a change to their assigned section editor may do so by emailing University Communications. Assignees receive a link to an eight-hour training in Canvas. After completing the training, they must fill out the section editor support request form so that University Communications can grant them access to their assigned section. Trained section editors can then add, update, and remove content in their assigned web section. Additionally, they may submit events to post on the university events webpage. Some content types have additional considerations and require special access or additional training. See the web support section below for more information.
Student-workers and contractors are not eligible to be section editors. Section editors must complete the initial training and periodic training refreshers to maintain access to edit webpages. They must also keep page content accurate and up to date on a regular basis by working with the appropriate administrator and other subject matter experts.
Website management
The university website infrastructure and standards are managed by a team led by Information Technology and partnered with University Communications. These departments have individual and shared responsibilities to support the university website.
- Information Technology provides the website's software, development, tools, content management system, technical training, technical support, reference materials, and other technical components.
- University Communications provides support with brand consistency and writing style and works with section editors to enhance the website's content — words, images, and organization — through individual consultation. University Communications also works with department heads and section editors to improve the presentation and standardization of content across the university website to create more user-friendly and brand-consistent content.
Website support
As CSUMB uses a decentralized approach to web content maintenance, section editors publish web edits at the direction of their appropriate administrator. Departments should plan ahead for section editor absences to maintain updated content. In the event of urgent content update needs during a temporary section editor absence, University Communications can assist the appropriate administrator if critical operations changes are necessary.
Technical support
For technical support with the current content management system, please review the following self-service resources:
Technical issues with the website are addressed by Information Technology through an IT ticket. Areas of support provided by information technology include:
- Broken page or unexpected error
- Site disruption or inability to access content or pages in the website from the public side or dashboard
- Search results — featured content requests
- Requests for new site functionality
Content support
Some content types and fields are not accessible to web section editors, so they must request these changes through the section editor support request form linked in the introduction of the web editor training in Canvas. University Communications can support section editors with:
- Granting initial editing access after completing training
- Granting access to load documents and images to the website
- Starting a project to add a college or department news section
- Editing up to three links in an existing top navigation
- Adding or editing left side navigation on one page
- Removing a restricted content block
- Mirroring a content block from another section of the website
- A request for a vanity URL
Requests for web changes that do not fit explicitly into these categories are communications projects and must be requested using the University Communications project request form. In order to track and schedule all of our tasks, University Communications cannot accept emailed requests or multiple requests of different topics in a single form. If you would like to discuss your web change ideas or needs, please complete the project request form, and University Communications will be happy to connect with you to scope the work and determine an achievable timeline.
Common web requests
The most common web support requests focus on four main topics: directory, photos and videos, restricted content types, and search bar results.
Directory
The new university directory is populated with data from the human resources information database. If your information is not correct, contact your department’s University Personnel liaison to correct the information. If you are unsure who your liaison is, ask your MPP.
If you would like to include a directory photo, participate in one of the periodic faculty and staff professional photo days produced by University Communications. Check Inside CSUMB for announcements about upcoming opportunities.
Adding biographic information, office hours, and other details are not available in the new directory. Information Technology is working on the next-generation features of the directory. Details are not yet available, and a launch date is not scheduled.
Department-managed custom directory pages are no longer supported in the new directory. All departments are encouraged to add a link from your About or Contact page to a filtered directory listing. Section editors should check the web editor training for more direction on making filtered directory listing links.
Photos
University Communications provides section editors with a robust library of brand standard photos in the Media Library in Terminalfour. These can be found in the Approved Image Selection folder. All section editors have access and training to use these images. Departments may request additional images be added to the Approved Image Selection folder, by submitting a communications project request. Section editors who would like to add their own brand-compliant images and accessible PDFs to their own department folders in the Media Library may request access by using the section editor support request form.
Videos
Videos may not be directly added to the website as they must first be reviewed for brand compliance. Departments that intend to make a video should engage with University Communications early in the process to ensure all brand elements are included in the project to avoid rework and delay. Complete the University Communications project request form for video projects and for brand review.
Restricted content types
Some content types are designed to be used with specific page layouts and do not work in all situations. These content types are not available for use or editing by section editors. The restricted content type most frequently encountered by section editors is Image Column with CTA Buttons. These blocks occur on pages that, in the old CMS, used a former content type in a non-standard application. If a section editor wants to edit this content, they must create replacement content in a general content or column content type. Then they must submit a section editor support request form to unpublish the restricted content block.
Search bar results
Improving the website search function is an ongoing process. If you search for a term and do not get the expected results, please share that information with Information Technology so that they may improve the search bar functionality.
Report a website issue
If you see a content issue on the website, please notify the respective department via the contact section on their landing page. The department’s assigned section editor should resolve the issue or submit an IT ticket for assistance.
Web projects or redesigns
We are not accepting section reorganization and redesign projects at this time.