Maintaining bowvalleycollege.ca a College-wide project

February 16, 2011

Website content contributors from across the College and representing all of its departments have started learning how to use the new website's Content Management System (CMS).

Neil Gilbert, Web Coordinator for the College, has been facilitating a series of orientation sessions that show contributors how to input content, format it, and submit it for approval. The sessions began on Feb. 15 and will run until Feb. 18.

"It will be a continual process of training and educating employees and making sure it's clear who does what and how they can do it," says Neil. "It's something that's new to everyone and we just have to keep working together to keep the site as relevant and up-to-date as possible."

Specific training sessions will focus on elements of web page design, document management within the system, practicing workflow and approvals, creating different types of pages, and organizing a department's tree of information within the CMS.

Neil Gilbert navigates Bow Valley College staff and faculty through the page creation process of the new Content Management System at a recent orientation session.

Neil has also scheduled open sessions where contributors can bring specific questions or content to input and he will help them one on one.

"We're really pleased with everyone's openness to learning the process and their enthusiasm about the new site," says Neil.

Once a content contributor has inputted content, a content reviewer will be prompted to review it, make changes to it and send it back, or approve it for publishing.

The CMS can also be used to send comments to one another about content, eliminating the need for emails or hardcopies while ensuring communications are well documented in the system.

"Rethinking and transforming bowvalleycollege.ca to serve the user - the future or current learner - is the culmination of a truly collaborative effort that engaged the entire College community and captured imaginations across service areas and functions," says Katherine Cormack, Director Marketing and Communications, Bow Valley College.

"It's an honour to give voice through this new site to what our colleagues shared with us and to reach out like never before."