CAMPUS: UTA Web Modernization Project Update (Faculty and Staff)

As you may know, we are currently undergoing a major web modernization project to overhaul the design and infrastructure of UTA’s website to provide a unified brand identity and improve the user experience.

New Website Content Migration and Timeline

The web modernization project, led by University Advancement and the Office of Information Technology, is a massive undertaking that will touch all areas of our campus’ online environment. With this in mind, we want to share an update on the project and a forecast of what is to come.

In addition to the UTA Homepage, a cross section of the most outwardly facing sites was selected to be part of the first wave transitioning to the new uta.edu. These sites were prioritized very early in the project based on factors such as business impact, content readiness, availability of migrating department’s/college’s resources, and the operational calendar.

With the help of a cross-functional team of campus stakeholders, Sitecore was selected as the content management system (CMS) for the new uta.edu. Sitecore is an industry-leading CMS that provides new capabilities for enhanced navigation, search, and personalization; analytics; improved mobile responsiveness; and tools that will better assist website managers in keeping sites updated and communicating to key audiences.

You will begin to notice significant design, functional, and navigation changes to the website beginning soon. We have divided the initial first-wave websites into two deployments:

We are carefully planning this migration process to mitigate interruptions to the functionality of our websites and your day-to-day needs as vital members of the University.

Faculty and Staff Resources Website

As we work to streamline the experience for the primary external target audiences, we are following industry best practices and separating public-facing content from faculty- and staff-focused content. The Faculty and Staff Resources portal will provide a central location for faculty and staff to access information relevant to their job duties and employment. Pages have been redeveloped on UTA’s current CMS tool, Cascade, to host this information. The Faculty and Staff Resources portal will launch concurrently with the first-wave deployments in Sitecore.

Next Steps and Transition of the Remainder of Campus

We are in the early stages of formulating the process by which we will assess and prioritize the web transition for the remainder of campus. We are aware that detailed information about the transition plan is important in your strategy development and resource decisions. We will update you as soon as possible after the August 28 first-phase deployment, by which point we will be able to apply the lessons we learned throughout the first-phase migration.

To keep the campus updated on this ongoing effort, we are continually updating theWebsite Redesign blog, which includes FAQs, project overview, timeline, and project updates.

Please do not hesitate to share any questions or concerns with the web modernization team at webredesignteam@uta.edu.

Our website is the most public-facing expression of UTA’s mission, goals, values, quality, and success. The University is positioning itself as the model 21st-Century Urban Research University, and our website must reflect that trajectory. We appreciate your support in making this vision a reality and look forward to providing a more efficient and effective web experience.