Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

EJET \ MJliPr Volume 57 - Issue 9 Board of Regents visits UWG; approves $57.9M for expansion By Andriana Brockman Stuff Writer acol Un7@ my.westga ,ei!u The University of West Georgia hosted the yearly meeting of the Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia last week. The board, which meets twice each year, visited the university for the first time in twenty years. Although a significant event for UWG, many students on campus are unaware of the significant role that the board plays. The board was created in 1931 and oversees 35 colleges and universities in the state of Georgia. It is composed of members appointed by the governor who serve seven-year terms, one from each Congressional District and five at large. The chancellor, currently Chancellor Enroll Davis, is the chief executive officer and chief administrative officer of the University System and is selected by the Regents. There are currently 18 members on the board The festivities began Mon., Oct. 8 with a progressive dinner in the Campus Center Ballroom. The official meetings were later held on Oct. 9 and 10. Both meetings were called to order by Chairman Allan Vigil and followed by an University Web sites showing age; kicking and screaming into 21st century By Ellis Smith News Editor ellisthered@gmail.com Most students at the University of West Georgia who haven’t been living under a rock for the past decade are familiar with and have grown accustomed to using the Internet for a variety of tasks. But students attempting to access many departmental websites here at UWG have run into a puzzling problem: Many of the websites are outdated, difficult to navigate, non-functional, and even contain major errors of fact. Students who are used to a dazzling array of Java and Flash powered applications on the websites they usually visit can find it difficult to access accurate information about their own professors, programs and facilities here at UWG. There is a definite disconnect between the students who are used to working, playing, and learning through the Internet and those responsible for their college education. Lucky for disgruntled students, a solution is already in the works. thbWest Georgian invocation by Regent Willis Potts. UWG President Dr. Beheruz Sethna welcomed the Regents to the campus on Tuesday and familiarized them with the goals and accomplishments of UWG “We ask not what you can do, but what we can do together”, he said during his presentation. Regent Richard Tucker presented the University System of Georgia Foundation’s annual report and spoke on the promising progress that has been achieved. Dr. Ron M. Zaccari, President of Valdosta State, presented a ten-month research project by a special task force on how to enhance student advising and development, which would include a three-phased proposal for improvement. The new advising system would require an advising mission statement, a posted two-year schedule, and annual evaluations. Zaccari recognized the difficulty inherent in the transformation, but stressed the importance of structure where advising is concerned. “It is definitely important for students to be directed in the right way. I really believe that UWG already offers a dedicated advising program,” Information Technology Services has bought a content management system- a program that gives anyone who knows how to type I the power to set up a framework for what pages are going to look like, and than insert content. It’s as easy as filling out a form. This program, known as Red Dot. is now officially implemented on the main UWG webpage, the ITS webpage, and also at the University Communications and Marketing website Blake Adams, project manager at UWG for any web-related peojects, says the Red Dot implementation is the biggest thing on his plate right now. “We’re getting a lot of interest from the administration side,but not as much as we’d like from the departmental side,” he said. This is unfortunante, because one of the biggest beneficiaries from the implementation of this non-HTML “What You See Is What You Get”, or WYSIWYG (pronounced whizzy-wig) system would be the very departments resisting the change. Rather than being forced to wait for HTML In News - Page 3 New student fees help bring new stadium to life WWW.! HEW E STCi [ORGIAN.CX )M i West Georgia welcomed the Board of Regents as they prepared to make important decisions con cerning the University of West Georgia's future. Courtney Lay, an Fairly Childhood Education major, said Samantha Gibson, an undecided freshman, said. "The advisors have been really helpful in pointing me in the right direction. I really feel as though they care about me as a student and want to see me succeed. That’s what so great about West Georgia”. programmers to put up new content every time anew event or piece of important information needs to be posted, any v . - P H " >, -V#4Wl I | *• '**s*'Hltifl ’.v ' v Vi k 'a-^ iSlillll^Bi^iyVjy^-V/ 1 3B '■ ~ ''® k vi < >’ V ' V ” , - |gf I|| M JF M V 7-' r - HppisKpp 'jsf .Jr** i£* jfl - pv While most UWG web sites are outdated and difficult to navigate, plans for updates are slowly, but surely, on the way. professor, department head, or secretary without an ounce of HTML training has the capability to post new information as fast as they can say “drag and drop.” “There is no mandate to enact this program, it is completely voluntary for each department,” Adams In Opinion • Page 4 WA The Madman’s Lantern comic The board came one step closer to completing the second of the six goals in the Strategic Plan adopted in the August 2007 meeting, which is making room for a projected 1 (X) ,(X X) add it i( nial students by the year 2020. The 260,(XX) students currently in the USG are a result of 30 percent grow th in enrollment over the past eight years. This would said So why isn't anyone jumping on the bandwagon? The West Georgian talked to Steven Broome, a member of the Web Redesign Committee and assistant director for the University Department of Communications and Marketing, to get his thoughts. “One of the issues that we’re experiencing with the content management system that puts some In Sports - Page 6 Wolves football snap five game losing streak substantially increase to nearly 4<X).000 students. The board passed a six year building plan to invest a proposed $1.7 billion in general obligation bonds between 2(X)8 and 2014. adding five additional years of proposed investment and providing a complex view of money placement. The capital planning model approved in 2(X)6 people off to begin with, is that they fear they may lose their individuality, they may feel stifled with their creativity with this. Photo by Terence Rushin And when you’re dealing with a template or a series of templates, of which we hope to have more soon, people can feel railroaded into making their page look a certain way.” Q: So the reason some Web sites haven’t been updated since 2(X)5 is that In A&E - Page 7 Across the Universe lives up to hype WEDNESDAY. OCTOBER 17. 2007 Photo bx Kim Folkes was the foundation of this new addition. “It’s really cool that they are placing such an emphasis on growth in education,” UWG senior Tomer Wagshal said. “I think that the more the educational system grows, the better Georgia as a whole will become.” See REGENTS page 2 the departments don’t want to lose their individuality? A: “Even though they’re not all well done, and they’re not updated, people still like the autonomy of the way things already are. The content management system is really there to address the problem of content being fresh on the site. The biggest pet peeve of users is that they go to the site, and its 5 years out of date. CMS, with a small amount of training, enables the content to be fresh.” Q: If departments are satisfied w'ith the status quo, however archaic it might be, then what is the motivating factor for them to switch over to the new system? A: "With CMS, the chemistry professor, instead of having to tell a student or secretary to update his information for him, he can go in there and do it in five minutes. Since he knows that it’s his stuff that’s there, the motivation is there to keep it fresh. So they might want to change their syllabus, or their office hours, or their resume, and they can do that without a special Web program.” See WEBSITES page 2