An interactive announcement screen, newly formatted calendar, and a streamlined new layout catch the eyes of those who have visited the Undergraduate Government of Boston College's (UGBC) Web site, ugbc.org, since Columbus Day weekend when the new site was unveiled.
UGBC officers Mike Coleman, director of technology for the UGBC and CSOM '10, and Samantha Lipscomb, executive director of communications for the UGBC and A&S '10, have been working on the new site for some time now with what they said is a broader vision of enhancing the BC student body's quality of life. The new layout, which they affectionately refer to as "The Site," is the innovation of both officers and is a step toward fulfilling the UGBC's objective to increase communication among the student body by providing a convenient way to receive and disseminate information about events on campus. Some of the most notable changes made to the Web site in an effort to facilitate this goal include an online submission request system for the newly implemented Flat Screen Notification System (FSNS), an interactive Google calendar for University events, a UGBC TV corner with links to the YouTube home of Now You Know, a student-run news and variety show that airs on BC TV, and a polling box.
Club and organization leaders can easily access the FSNS via a link on the left side of the page, where they can submit an e-form that goes directly to Kevin Hylant, the director of flat-screen technology and CSOM '11. As director of flat screens, Hylant is responsible for updating, screening, and helping to approve all FSNS submission, and monitoring the success of the pilot. The portal offers what Coleman and Lipscomb said is an easy way to advertise events on the plasma TV screens located in the Eagle's Nest and Corcoran Commons dining halls.
The UGBC events calendar, powered by Google and located toward the bottom of the main page, now comes in agenda format so users can see view UGBC events occurring on a given day. The University and student life calendars are not incorporated into the UGBC calendar. "We've incorporated the calendar into the homepage layout, so it's just a quick and easy way to see what there is to do on campus without have to click multiple times to find it," Lipscomb said. Clicking on the event provides the user with a drop-down box with additional information. "We want to emphasize that it's open to all clubs and organizations and not just events held by UGBC, as are the flat screens," Lipscomb said.
For video coverage of events happening at BC, users can now check out the UGBC TV corner. Prior to the establishment of the UGBC TV's Now You Know YouTube channel, students could only watch BC's longest running cable program at 6 or 11 p.m. on BC TV. Though it is operating out of YouTube for the time being by merely providing links to episodes uploaded on www.youtube.com, Coleman said the goal is to eventually put the videos directly on the UGBC site so that the student body can find out what's happening on campus with minimal effort. "The point is to bring to the forefront what people need - and want to - see," Coleman said.
Despite the changes though, the new UGBC Web site is still "very much under construction" said Chris Denice, UGBC president and CSOM '09. Some students were frustrated to find that not all the links were live, and that much of the old content - like the Professor Evaluation Profiles (PEPs), local takeout menus, downtown nightlife guides, and MBTA maps - were missing. These missing pieces, however, aren't gone for good: "Everything from the old site will return, as will new content. The idea is to put the pieces together slowly and built to last so we don't have to do this again for a long time," Denice said.
The system that the PEPs runs on underwent renovation last week and was out of commission, but are now fully functioning once more. Though they are a main attraction of the UGBC Web site and serve as a vital tool for many students, the system hadn't been updated since 1999. As a result, the PEPs are littered with reviews of professors who no longer teach at BC and have an unclarified ratings system. Now that the system has been updated, these issues will be able to be rectified.
According to the "What do you think of the new UGBC Web site" poll on the Web site's main screen, though, student opinion is split. Of the 460 students who have voted so far, 31.7 percent chose the "I do not like it" option in the poll, outnumbering the runner-up, "Looks good," by 21 votes.
"The poll was put up before PEPs was up live, and many of the links aren't working yet, so I don't think the vote is too representative of what will soon be offered on the Web site," Denice said. "Plus, people can vote as many times as they'd like right now."
The UGBC has put a lot of time into the Web site and, as a group, is "extremely excited to introduce a better, cleaner, more efficient Web site for students to use," Denice said.
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