Site Information
About this Site
The five-person Web team, part of the College Relations Office, is responsible for the Buffalo State Web site, which is directed to prospective and current students, donors, alumni, and the general community.
Our servers are maintained by Computing and Technology Services. College Relations reports to the vice president for finance and management; Computing and Technology Services reports to the vice president and CIO (institution organizational chart).
We strive for the best online product possible. In order to achieve this standard, we rely on research, the latest accessible technology, and user communication. Feedback is an indispensable part of our development process. Contact us with questions or comments about the Buffalo State site.
The Buffalo State site is housed within Ingeniux, the college's XML-based content management system. A suite of office and department templates, released in March 2004, also is powered by the CMS. The Web team has presented on this and other initiatives at CIT 2003, SUNY/CUAD 2004, the CASE District II 2005 annual conference, CASE District V 2005 annual conference, Educause 2004, HighEdWebDev 2004, Web Communications and Strategies 2004, and HighEdWebDev 2005.
Our Development Philosophy
Our aim: create clean, navigable sites that feature useful, up–to–date content and serve users regardless of connection speed. We are committed to accessibility—users with vision, motor, or hearing impairments, as well as browsers with older equipment, can fully experience our site. To that end, in May 2000, Buffalo State adopted a set of Web publishing standards that illustrate a commitment to accessibility. Our designs always uphold the college's visual identity.
To us, the most important component of a Web site is the information it conveys. Content is paramount. Although design is important, we understand that the Web is a medium that can't be frozen into place. We expect—and accept—that our sites will render differently on different browsers.
Our code is standards-compliant, which means our sites:
- are accessible
- are easy to maintain
- load quickly
- rank better in search engines
Developing the Current Site
This latest design, released August 2004, was guided, as always, by user feedback and best practices. User feedback is gathered through Webmaster mail (this cool form does a lot behind the scenes), annual usability studies, our ongoing Web survey (complete it to see results to date), search keywords, traffic statistics, and something new: faculty/staff and student roundtable discussions. A bit more on how we get at these site metrics: 2004 SUNY/CUAD panel discussion (PPT, 570KB).
In preparation for the current redesign, the Web team sponsored a series of user roundtables. Each session used a focus group format, the content for which was co-developed by the Web team and Stephen Chris, senior counselor, Counseling Center; Karen O'Quin, associate dean, Natural and Social Sciences; and Kelly Boos, assistant to the dean, Natural and Social Sciences. Sessions were skillfully facilitated by the faculty research team (who are available to help organize other campus focus groups; please contact them directly).
Roundtables allowed participants to share feedback about the current Buffalo State Web site, stress general information needs, and offer thoughts on proposed advanced functionality. (Hint: Look for more cool stuff to come.)
Session overviews (data generously compiled by the facilitators):
Faculty and Staff (PDF, 455KB)
Students (PDF, 375KB)
The Web team shares its usability study (blank instrument) with other educational site administrators; just contact us.
Awards
2007
SUNY's Council for University Affairs and Development awards the Graduate School site with best in category/student recruitment Web site
SUNY's Council for University Affairs and Development recognizes the Intercollegiate Athletics site with a judges' citation for alumni relations
The Buffalo State "Underground Tour" earns two regional ADDY awards (categories: interactive media usage and viral marketing campaign) and an Award of Excellence from the University & College Designers Association (UCDA) Design Competition
Admissions Marketing Report awards a merit award for the undergraduate admissions site
2006
College Web site awarded bronze/institutional Web site by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education District II
SUNY/CUAD recognizes the Insider with best in category/university relations Web site
Public Relations Society of America's Excalibur Award awarded to the Daily
2005
Award of excellence for the college Web site by the University and College Designers Association
Silver in the category of institutional Web sites awarded by District II of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education
2004
College Web site, bronze, from District II of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education
SUNY/CUAD recognizes the Insider with best in category, online alumni publications
Admissions Marketing Report awarded a merit award for the undergraduate admissions site
Past Versions
Curious about the look of Web sites past? Nostalgic for "your site" when you attended Buffalo State College? A sampling of designs from 1996 to the present are in our past versions gallery.
Web Support
The Web team provides assistance to the campus community in the form of Web site planning and Web template support and training.
Specialized sites that address an external audience are strong candidates for custom design and programming assistance. Want more information? Contact us.
