WAB Charge letter from the President

The World Wide Web (WWW) is transforming how we do business in higher education. Instruction, administration, and service are all affected. Recently, the Information Technology Roundtable (ITR) commissioned a WWW development working group to study the WWW and multimedia technology at NDSU. The working group and the ITR recommended a WWW Advisory Board "to guide overall web strategy and ensure recognition of resource needs and strategies to support and enhance the university's mission." The Board will include representatives from administration, instruction, research, outreach, students, and from the ITR. I am asking each of you to serve on the NDSU World Wide Web Advisory Board.

The overall objective of the Board is to provide for the creation and maintenance of "a significant NDSU Web presence for both external and internal educational, marketing, and, informational service purposes." The Board should be guided by the goals and philosophies developed by the WWW working group. (See the report from the ITR working group at http://www.ndsu.nodak.edu/itr/wow.html.) The Board will be responsible for:

• promoting our web site, www.ndsu.nodak.edu, as the integrated center of all Web functions at NDSU;

• developing a set of evolving technology and design guidelines that track evolution of Web-based and multimedia technologies;

• coordinating the home page presence of NDSU divisions (e.g., colleges, departments, athletics, administrative services, etc.) in such aspects as major links, minimal down-load time, and coding efficiencies; and

• insuring that home page guidelines are developed with interdisciplinary input and that such guidelines allow for creative presentation of the diverse interests and services of this land grant institution.

In discharging its responsibilities, the Board should meet regularly and keep the campus informed of its activities through regular reports to the Information Technology Roundtable.

I appreciate your willingness to serve NDSU in this important way. Dr. Bill Slanger, who has agreed to chair the Board, will contact you shortly.