Web Communications Group>

Web Communications Group Meeting: 08-22-06
Meeting minutes

I. The meeting opened with a brief update on the possible upgrading of the Penn calendar.

• University Communications met with ISC regarding the Penn calendar upgrade and will prepare a business case to include the following:
  1. Clarify why we want a new and/or improved calendar.
  2. List 5-8 high-level features we would like to have in our new calendar -- e.g. improved user interface, more user-friendly CMS, ability to push to other areas of Penn web, etc.
  3. Identify potential calendar products that we might like to have implemented.
  4. Identify five universities that have calendars we like.
• A Penn Calendar working group (PCWG) led by Deni Kasrel will be formed with the charge of providing input for the business case that needs to be submitted in mid-November. The PCWG will only meet a few times—most of the communication will be via email. Individuals interested in joining this committee should contact Deni at dkasrel@pobox.upenn.edu.
• A survey will be conducted to obtain feedback on our current calendar
• The calendar upgrade will most likely be Phase II of the web enhancement project.

II. Homepage enhancement project discussion—University Communications is not planning to make design changes to the second tier templates at this time.

• UComms is aiming to complete this project in fiscal year 2007.
• Preliminary designs will be shown to the group.
• Swivel Studios --a new firm created by the designer of Arts at Penn and Research at Penn--has been selected for this project.
• UComms informed the group of the homepage enhancements currently being considered:
  • The homepage will no longer have the "window" effect.
  • The main homepage image may be changed to encourage community participation with photo submission contests, similar to the photo submission feauture on the Columbia University web site.
  • Web statistics indicate that the bottom toolbar on the Penn homepage is not registering well with users—those links may be moved to a more prominent location.
  • The Penn Compact will be better integrated into the site.
  • There may be modules on the new homepage to allow for additional content areas; e.g. Penn Experience, Compact in Action, news and events, etc.


• Summary of group feedback regarding the enhanced homepage:
  • Compact in Action (CIA) items should be data driven and several different CIAs should be on the homepage at one time.
  • Homepage should be more fun and interactive, possibly including such features as "most popular pages" and "most emailed pages."
  • CIAs and homepage submission photos should be available in RSS feeds.
  • A few group members felt that the current homepage image is visually unappealing.
  • Different size constraints should be considered--possibly change to vertical orientation with scrolling.

III. Penn Experience web site discussion:

• This site would be a central area that incorporates information from all 12 schools to provide a lively, comprehensive view of life on Penn's campus.
• The group looked at the UC Berkeley Online Tour web site as an example of a site that gives users an expansive view of campus life--including student and faculty profiles, detailed campus information and easy access links to other important areas of the Berkeley web.
• Bucknell University has a site entitled the Bucknell Experience that includes student, faculty, and alumni profiles. A WCG member suggested that we be sure to include staff in the Penn Experience web site.
• The audience, while not completely defined at this point, would most likely be internal and external; including prospective and current students, faculty, and staff.


• Summary of group feedback regarding the Penn Experience web site:
  • Include innovative items on the site, such as video and RSS feeds. There was also a suggestion to have a Penn version of YouTube in which students, staff or faculty submit videos of themselves to be viewed on the site.
  • Identify ways to pool content resources from different schools and departments. Group members from Develoment and Alumni Relations mentioned that their department frequently writes articles that may be relevant to the Penn Experience.
  • Insert links to the Penn Experience site throughout the Penn web. For example, spotlight links on the central Penn web.

University web standards, guidelines, page templates and logos.

News feeds and RSS information.

View news feeds from around the University in a single, automatically updated page.

Images of the University of Pennsylvania for download.

Penn Perspectives is a series of ongoing conversations with people doing exciting, innovative work at the University of Pennsylvania.

TV Spots: Penn has developed three new TV spots that highlight the University’s long tradition of ingenuity and entrepreneurship.

• Penn Nursing
• School of Arts and Sciences
• Penn Veterinary Medicine
• Wharton School
• Athletics
• Penn Medicine
• Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology