University to revamp main website

If there is one thing both students and administrators can agree on, it's that the Tufts website is too plain.

With the Internet becoming more and more important in the college selection and admissions process, universities across the country are realizing the importance of a well-designed website.

"At the end of last semester, it was the general student consensus that our website is obsolete and an embarrassment," Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senator Ed Kalafarski said. Kalafarski is spearheading the Senate initiative to begin a major reconstruction of the website.

Kalafarski took the idea to fellow TCU Senator John Valentine, who presented the proposal for a new Tufts.edu website at the first Senate meeting of the semester. The Senate voted unanimously in favor of a redesign.

According to Assistant Director of Public Relations Pete Sanborn, the main goals of the redesign are to highlight the strengths of the undergraduate and graduate schools, research at the University, student life, faculty, staff, and alumni. New content will replace what already exists, and Sanborn expects there to be easier access to key information to help visitors.

"[We need] a top-level web presence that reflects the outstanding reputation of the University," he said.

When Kalafarski proposed the idea to Vice President of University Relations Mary Jeka, it paralleled the administration's plans.

"As it turned out, we had begun focusing on improving and expanding at about the same time that the senators were developing their resolution," Sanborn said. "We've had a chance to meet and talk about our ideas and have much in common."

While researching what could be improved and changed on the Tufts.edu site, Kalafarski browsed other schools' websites for examples of both good and bad sites. "What we found from looking at all these other college websites was that the modern trend is having attractive graphics and a very minimalist design," Kalafarski said. "Basically all we want is a hot design with good features."

Students agree the Tufts.edu website and its branches, such as the Student Information System (SIS) page and the admissions sites are unattractive. "It's extremely boring, especially compared to other universities' sites, and it's hard to find information," sophomore Ashley Ward said. "A school like Tufts should have a more impressive and effective site."

Both Kalafarski and Sanborn confirmed that the first phase of the redesign will be launched over the summer, but that some new tools may be available online within the upcoming months.

The new website design will begin with central University sites but the redesign effort is expected to trickle down to individual academic department websites. Currently, each department designs its own website, frequently through student help.

"While the IT deptartment can't force them to go for the new style, it's going to be suggested and strongly encouraged," Kalafarski said. He said some of the current department websites are over ten years old.

Because the project is still in its early stages, "everything is subject to change," Kalafarski said. There are no specific University websites or templates that are being considered at the moment.

Sanborn also could not comment on what the new website could look like, "but I can say that the new site will be highly visual with improved functionality."

Costs are also unknown, but Kalafarski said a professional website design company will work on the project.

Ford Adams contributed to this article