We are working to update the design of our websites to be more focused on prospective students and other visitors.
Learn more about our goals for the redesign and the HSC Communications plan.We are on schedule to launch new homepages the first week in January! The homepage for the HSC and each college will be updated January 5th. Other key public entry points will be transitioned to the new design through February.
The Executive Committee recently tasked a new web redesign team with launching a new-and-improved HSC website before the start of the new year. The new website will have a marketing focus geared towards prospective students and faculty, patrons (legislators, donors, funding agencies, and alumni), and visitors/patients. Information important to our internal audiences will still exist on the site, but in a way that is more user-friendly.
You might ask, why redesign our website now? Web standards indicate the need to update a website every two years. This process will allow us to focus on refreshing the content and navigation structure so that the website is easier to use. In addition, visitors are increasingly accessing our website through tablets and mobile devices. We plan to address this trend by using responsive web design, a technique where we detect and adapt to the dimensions of a user’s device.
With the start of the legislative session in January, and the prospective realignment with Texas A&M University, this is the perfect time to ensure our website clearly tells the story of the Texas A&M Health Science Center. Throughout the design process, the team members will coordinate with their counterparts at TAMU to ensure that the web redesign takes into account the realignment process.
The team recently conducted focus groups with new students and a web redesign survey to solicit feedback from our faculty, staff and students. We have heard your collective voice on changes you would like to see. Several themes emerged from the feedback, including the following:
Thanks for your participation in the survey, as well as to the new students who participated in focus groups. Your input is an integral part to the success of our new website. The website is scheduled to launch before the end of 2012. If you have questions or feedback about the redesign, or if you would like to participate in a focus group before launch, please contact marcomm@tamhsc.edu.
Thank you,
HSC Web Redesign Team