EDITORIAL: Website redesign issues avoidable
The redesign of cmich.edu, Central Michigan University’s electronic face to the world, has taken an unreasonable amount of time and money.
The worst part is that the $550,000 and nearly seven-month delay since it was pushed back from its August release date could have easily been avoided.
Cmich.edu's current iteration is confusing at best and broken at worst for users hoping to find anything but the most common information.
Three or four different pages seem to exist for any given topic, with the most relevant and useful of them often buried in search results.
Different departments and programs exist in wildly different places, with no coherent structure or common design.
There can be no question that the site was long since due for an overhaul.
But CMU is privileged to retain a very competent Office of Information Technology.
The full-time professionals employed by CMU could, with aid from consultants and computer science and information technology interns, have easily brought the site up to par with modern expectations of design and user experience — saving thousands and providing valuable real-world experience for students.
This is a clear example of administrators being unfamiliar with the technology and throwing money at a problem rather than using our own resources — not unlike out-of-touch congressional representatives signing off on SOPA without bothering to familiarize themselves with its technological implications.
By placing the project in the hands of a outside entity, the school has decided in favor of professional experience rather than familiarity with the campus and university, something that may ultimately backfire.
All of this would be excusable if the new and improved cmich.edu had launched by now. However, there is still no hard deadline for the site's launch.
