About this site
Purpose of the institutional home page
The official site or “institutional home page” for the University of Wisconsin–Madison is designed to reflect the university’s core missions of teaching, research and public service, and to guide both external and internal communities through the university’s official information and vast resources.
University Communications developed the home page in consultation with units across the campus. The site is hosted on Web servers maintained by the Division of Information Technology.
Central goals for the home page are to:
- enhance the user experience
- ensure timely and consistent content
- reflect the spirit and personality of one of America’s great public research universities
Definitions
The term “home page” is used to describe the highest-level page of UW–Madison’s official site (http://www.wisc.edu) and the second-level pages, which link directly from the highest-level site and operate under the same navigational structure and graphic design.
These pages are meant to guide users to major information categories. In some cases, third-level pages have been added under the same structure and design to accommodate additional related links. University Communications will add links to second-level and third-level pages if the links enhance a user’s ability to find information and sites related to a particular page.
Given the breadth and depth of university-related information now available on the Web, these pages are not meant to provide a comprehensive list of links. Users are encouraged to use the search capability to locate more specific information.
Hierarchy of information
UW–Madison’s Web site includes several types of pages:
- “Official pages” include the highest-level page (starting at http://www.wisc.edu) and second-level pages, which together provide an overview of the university, its administration and core missions, and information related to campus news and events. University Communications is responsible for the graphic identity and content of these pages.
- “Unit or department pages” are developed and maintained by campus administrative units or departments within the university’s schools and colleges, and they are responsible for their content. Units and departments are encouraged to follow Web style standards when creating these pages.
- “Affiliated pages” are developed and maintained by organizations, including student groups that are officially affiliated with UW–Madison. The organizations are responsible for the content of these pages.
- “Personal pages” are developed and maintained by individual UW–Madison faculty, staff or students. The university is not responsible for the content of these sites.
Management of the home page
UW–Madison’s home page (as described under “Definitions”), including its graphic identity, information architecture, navigation and content, is developed and maintained by University Communications.
The home page was developed using XHTML 1.0 Strict specification designated by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The site’s layout was created with W3C’s specifications for CSS 1.0 and CSS 2.0. Although all Web browsers can be used to access the site’s content, newer versions will apply more advanced styles than older browsers can accommodate. The home page is designed to meet W3C’s AAA accessibility requirements, surpassing the rules from Section 508 of the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Responsibility for content
University Communications, which is responsible for the content of the home page and maintains several administrative sites, strives to provide timely and accurate information. However, given the vast array of Web sites developed and maintained across the campus, the university cannot assume responsibility for all of the information that is accessible from the home page. Those who develop unit or affiliated sites are responsible for the specific content and are expected to comply with university policies, as well as copyright and intellectual property laws.
Criteria for news or events links
News or events links featured on the highest level of the home page must be of general interest to the campus community and beyond. University Communications, which develops and maintains the home page, uses editorial judgment when selecting these links. To be considered for a link, a story must:
- cover a topic with a direct connection to UW–Madison
- achieve this direct connection by virtue of an individual, a sponsoring organization or a location officially operated by or affiliated with UW–Madison
Criteria for featured sites
Sites selected as “featured sites” on the home page are meant to call attention to especially timely or important information, or to highlight new or updated sites related to UW–Madison. University Communications, which develops and maintains the home page, uses editorial judgment when selecting these sites. To be considered for inclusion, a site must:
- provide information with a direct connection to UW–Madison
- include timely and accurate content
- be developed and maintained by a university unit or department, or by an organization affiliated with UW–Madison
Privacy
To help assess the UW–Madison Web site’s content and navigational features, and to develop ways to improve them, University Communications may collect overall usage data. Individual names or e-mail addresses are never collected for the university’s use or provided to third parties.
Feedback
Your feedback will help University Communications to continue to improve UW–Madison’s Web site. Please send comments to homepage@uc.wisc.edu.