An Interview with Kimberly Spragg, Student Programs Manager and Kevin S. Trowbridge, Vice President for Communications of the Council for Christian Colleges & Universities (CCCU).
On October 25, 2001, Kimberly and Kevin met with eResources communications director Christy Chappell to discuss their experience working with eResources on the BestSemester.com website. We know that honest feedback helps us serve our clients better and we appreciate Kimberly and Kevin’s willingness to sit down and talk with us about our services and work style.
eResources: What did you want to do with the BestSemester website at the beginning?
KS: Since our programs are for students, the main objective was simply to make students more aware of the off-campus study programs available to them. We knew we needed to look better so that we would have a greater appeal to our student audience, and our former website was - honestly - pretty boring.
KT: The CCCU is an association of more than 150 intentionally Christ-centered colleges and universities around the world. There are 101 member campuses in North America and 55 affiliate campuses in 19 countries. And, we do that by nearly 100 programs we provide to our member campuses. Our 10 student programs operate under the auspice of BestSemester.com. Prior to the launch of BestSemester.com, our student programs were promoted in the long list of services we offer on our main association’s website, www.cccu.org. BestSemester.com has now developed into its own brand and is targeted primarily for the juniors and seniors at CCCU member colleges and universities.
eResources: Can you describe some of your primary considerations?
KS: Within the BestSemester program we offer ten very different off-campus study programs, in different locations around the world and each are operated by different program directors. So, we have to be sure to consider the diverse needs and opinions from our program directors. One of the things I appreciated about Dusty (president of eResources) was that he was able to explain some very technical concepts in a way that I could understand. I didn’t start this process with much technical knowledge, but through working with Dusty, I learned a lot about website production and design that, in turn, helped me to work well with other members of our staff on this project.
eResources: Could you describe the benefits of the eResources Content Management Solution?
KS: Our website is so easy to update now. I can make changes in a matter of seconds, and the changes are posted instantly. I don’t have to call up our web development coordinator and ask for her to stop what she’s doing to change a word here or there. Now, when we have an update to make, it can go up as quickly as one of us can type it into the system.
KT: Before we acquired eResources Content Management Solution, making changes to our site was an extensive ordeal. We have already seen the benefit of the CMS’s efficiency. A couple of days ago, we received a call from a program director who needed to make a change to some content that was online. Instead of the correction becoming a 3-hour crisis, our Student Programs office was able to respond immediately. The changes were made within minutes of the request.
eResources: Is the Content Management Solution easy to use?
KT: When we were deciding whether or not to purchase content management software, or to have eResources build a customized system, one of the things I was concerned about was the potential for bugs in the system. With software, once you install it, generally everything runs smoothly. But there are a lot of unknowns with a system that is built from scratch. I worried, “What if they deliver the product and then leave us to deal with the bugs on our own?” Like any customized system, we had some adjustments to make once the product was first delivered. However, the eResources team has responded promptly to all of the issues that have come up. The CMS is really a solution that we are working together to shape for the needs of our organization. Those initial frustrations were far out-weighed by the responsiveness of Dusty and the eResources team. I was really pleased by their stick-to-it-ness and willingness to work with us to make sure the system served us well.
eResources: What services did you expect to receive from eResources, and are you pleased with the final results?
KS: I am very pleased. I love the look of our site now. We’ve had a lot of great feedback from our constituents. It’s so much more appealing to students now and it’s easier for everyone to navigate.
KT: There are two major changes to our web presence since eResources developed our website. The first is the look of the site, which is greatly improved. Before, our programs were somewhat lost within the contents of a large association website. Now, our site has a “wow” effect and people love it. The second major change for us is the ease with which we are able to manage our content. Previously, we had to rely on one or two people who knew HTML if changes needed to be made. The hassle associated with keeping content fresh and dynamic has been eliminated entirely with eResources’ Content Management Solution.
eResources: Did eResources deliver its services in a timely manner?
KS: I think they did a great job. eResources put a great amount of work into it and completed it in only two months. I know from other experiences that the development and implementation of a new database-driven site and content management system sometimes takes up to a year.
eResources: Would you recommend eResources’ services to others?
KT: Certainly. And, I’d like to add one last thing before we end this interview. We had to educate some people in our organization about the benefits of an active, database-driven site over a static HTML site. But, now that we have the system up and running, we all agree that it is well worth the effort to go with the database-driven site, which is a more expensive option. I know that for many organizations, cost is a very real concern. That’s no exception here. When we met with eResources and received their proposal for this job, the cost seemed prohibitive. However, when I compared it to what other companies were charging for comparable systems and content management solutions, I realized eResources was asking far less than other companies.
KS: Yes, I’d definitely recommend them to others.
eResources: We appreciate your feedback. Thanks a lot.
