Austin Community College District (ACC) is revamping its website. A comprehensive web redesign project is officially underway. This important initiative is a top priority for the College and represents a significant investment in improving the digital experience for our students, employees, and the broader community.
The project is a full redevelopment of ACC’s online presence with four key goals in mind— to improve the user experience, functionality, accessibility, and workflow.
“This is an opportunity to tear down silos and work together as one College to reimagine one of our most important communication channels,” says Brette Lea, ACC Vice Chancellor of College Relations & Marketing. “The ACC website is our front door. It is an extension of the Riverbat brand, a reflection of our values, and the primary point of contact for every student, future student, employee, and community member. If we get this right — and we will — it will solve some communication challenges, better connect people to the information they need to succeed, and get us ready for a future with AI in it.”
To truly improve the user experience, the project will touch on all aspects of the website in five overlapping phases:
- Public-facing promotional content to help future students find their path and start strong, as well as grow community ambassadors.
- Public-facing student-centric content to improve current student communication, engagement, and completion.
- A Student Portal to build a single sign-on solution for easy access to personalized student information.
- An Employee Intranet to enhance security, streamline communication, and improve engagement.
- College web services to establish a collegewide operations and governance structure.
To guide this work, the College established a Web Advisory Committee, key stakeholders who serve in an advisory capacity to the Chancellor’s Cabinet, providing strategic direction to and governance of collegewide web services (see Web Advisory Committee & Charge). Representatives from offices and departments across the College, as well as students, are included.
“It’s a good cross-section of the College having hard conversations and establishing clear goals and priorities to get the work done,” says Dr. Guillermo “Willie” Martinez, Student Engagement & Academic Success Associate Vice Chancellor. “Our website is often the first stop for future students seeking to transform their lives through education and a place where current students can engage with the College community and each other. A welcoming, accessible, and well-maintained website supports recruitment and enrollment, and also serves as a critical hub for information and engagement throughout a student’s academic journey.”
“This collaborative effort requires thoughtful input from across the College,” says Dr. Elizabeth Knight, Associate Vice Chancellor for Academic Programs. “Faculty and instructional leaders bring invaluable insight into what students need to know and how they need to hear it. Their voices are essential in crafting program pages that are not only accurate but inspiring. The work ahead involves deep listening, cross-functional partnerships, and a shared commitment to putting students first — making sure we don’t just inform, but open the door to a future students can believe in.”
What’s Next
One of the first charges of the Committee is to find a digital design firm to provide external counsel to the College. The Request for Proposals (RFP) closed in August. The Selection Committee plans to make its recommendations in September to present to the Board of Trustees in October.
Until then, the project will continue to focus on engagement, research and discovery, planning, and testing, which includes taking steps to make important improvements on our website. An enhanced student web page will go live on August 22, just in time for the first day of the fall semester. The redesign team will be tracking feedback from faculty, staff, and students to continue making improvements. For a sneak peek, check out the Current Students – Preview Link.
“It’s important to understand this is a big lift that will require dedicated focus and attention,” says Lea. “We will do everything in our power to keep the College moving forward with web-related requests, but those not aligned with collegewide priorities may have to hold so that College web teams have the bandwidth and resources to meet critical project milestones that will be required to be successful.”
To learn more about what’s been done to date and follow updates about the Web Redesign Project, visit austincc.edu/redesign.