By Carlo Valladares
News Editor
On Sept. 8, LIU Post launched a revamped and redesigned version of the university’s website. The new site is more colorful than the old one, and is more interactive, featuring promotional slideshows that highlight certain aspects of the university, such as LIU Life and Discovery & Innovation.
The home page also has a new “By the Numbers” info-graphic, showcasing statistics like the 200,000 plus alumni worldwide, the 500 degrees offered across all LIU campuses, and the 118 countries that call LIU home.
“In this day and age, a website is the single most important marketing and communication tool that an organization has, so in keeping with our mission of access and excellence, we felt it was necessary to create a new website that best positions LIU as a forward- thinking university, utilizing the latest online tools and interactive experiences,” said Jackie Nealon, Chief of Staff and Vice President for Enrollment, Campus Life, and Communications. LIU’s Communications and Marketing office was responsible for the project.
“As part of our ongoing institutional effectiveness and strategic plans, the regular updating of LIU’s technology is always a priority,” Nealon continued.
George Baroudi, the Vice President for Information Technology & Chief Business Process Improvement Officer, said that IT was also involved in the project. “[Our] input was in making sure that the website [was] built based on a responsive design. Responsive design allows you to adjust the web links to any screen size, from a mobile screen to a large desktop screen size.”
Students, faculty, and staff were not officially notified of the change to the website.
Nealon explained, “Most of the work on the website took place over the summer when many students [were] not on campus. We did engage several students on the project in the areas of coding, developing pages, photography, and so on.”
Jacob Schmotzer, a sophomore English and Secondary Education major, commented on the new site. “I think it’s a major improvement over what it was, but there is still room for improvement. It’s still not too easy to navigate if you’re looking for something very specific.”
Now that the initial launch is behind the university, Nealon said that LIU is going to start a multiphase web update schedule that will eventually convert the entire site into new templates. “The comments and concerns of the entire LIU community will be taken into consideration, as this will be a joint venture involving students, faculty, staff, and other stakeholders,” Nealon added.
“Our goal in doing this was to highlight various aspects of the university that showcase our flagship programs and pride points, while upgrading the usability of the site as a whole,” Nealon said. She continued, “Information is quicker and easier to find, with a sleek new responsive navigation that is also optimized for mobile and desktop devices. We encourage faculty and students to send us feedback, as they are among the biggest users of the site.”
The last website redesign was launched in 2009. Nealon stated that the school was going to continue updating the site further. “We will incorporate additional changes and updates that reflect the latest developments in online functionality. While we have made enormous strides in transforming liu.edu to better reflect our dynamic university, there is still much to do in the weeks and months ahead. A website is never completely finished.”
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