Project Breakdown

One Project in Two Phases

This project is divided into two phases: Phase 1—marketing and community outreach websites, and Phase 2—internal websites vital to the university's daily operations (an employee and student hub).

Phase 1 is now live and functioning. Phase 1— the public-facing, marketing website —is in the analytics and adjustment section of the project timeline.

Phase 1 Stated Intention

Phase 1 will focus on websites that engage with the general public and the extended Bearkat community.

  • A new university website targeted to prospective students and their supporters
  • A new website for University Alumni Relations
  • A separate instance for Sam Houston Memorial Museum and Republic of Texas Presidential Library
  • A separate instance for the College of Osteopathic Medicine’s public clinic
  • A separate instance for the College of Arts and Media’s Dance, School of Music, and Theatre & Musical Theatre ticket sales and public events

Phase 2 will create an internal web tool supporting focused content for SHSU faculty, staff, and current students. For questions about Phase 2, please contact IT@Sam.

Phase 2:

Internal Employee & Student Hubs

An intranet will function as a centralized hub for internal resources, including university documents, procedures, training and digital tools. This centralization aims to increase job satisfaction among SHSU employees and retention among enrolled students through more efficient operations and convenient access to internal resources.

For questions about Phase 2— the intranet portion of the website redesign project— and the phase 2 timeline, please contact IT@Sam.

Phase 1 Details

Marketing & Our Extended Bearkat Community

Phase 1 is now live and functioning. Phase 1— the public-facing, marketing website —is in the analytics and adjustment section of the project timeline.

Stated Phase 1 Strategy

To align with the university’s brand strategy, we will create one site for university prospective students, parents, employees and community, and one site for university alumni and donors.

A dedicated effort will be implemented alongside our brand work to highlight the individuality of our programs among peer colleges.

The strength of our locations – Huntsville, Conroe, The Woodlands and online learning – and unique program offerings are essential building blocks of our strategic framework and help define who we are.

The student experience is paramount. Their first look at SHSU will demonstrate our simple and integrated process of becoming a Bearkat for life.

To achieve this, the brand and website will be managed centrally by the Integrated Marketing Communications Department. The redesign objectives will focus on enhancing and improving the customer experience. Our primary audiences are prospective students and parents, community, alumni and donors.

The SHSU website will have a clear market-driven purpose.

 

Phase 1 - Timeline

June 17, 2024

Kickoff Meeting

  • IMC & SEI meet with SimpsonScarborough to workout details.
1 to 5 Months

Discovery, Audit, & Strategy

6 to 11 Months

Sitemaps & UI Design

  • SimpsonScarborough develops site structure, organization, and visual design.
12 to 17 Months

Development & Training

  • IMC & SimpsonScarborough develops and implements the website.
  • Joint training sessions for web editors conducted.
17 Months

New Website Launches

  • The new public website(s) go live.
17 to 18 Months

Analytics & Adjustment

  • Live website analytics gathered and adjustments made to the site.