We Asked, You Answered. [INFOGRAPH]

In our last newsletter we asked users a couple of questions, like “How do you use U.OSU?” and “What do you like about the service?” Your responses were tallied and we’re taking your comments and suggestions into consideration as we move forward to improve the university’s web platform service.

u.osu survey results snapshot

View the entire infographic on ODEE News.

We noticed some common requests have a few existing solutions or workarounds.

Request: I want to include a form.

Solution: Check out all the features Formidable brings to the table.

Request: I would like my U.OSU to look like a website, not a blog.

Solution: While U.OSU inherently lists your Posts in chronological order, a few changes in Settings can help customize the look and feel of your site. Use Pages to achieve a static website aesthetic.

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Web Space for Student Orgs

Leading a student organization is much like running a business. Except most student leaders are doing it while also balancing classes, social lives and part-time jobs. Using U.OSU simplifies the process of managing a website and not to mention it is completely free.

There are a number of features we’ve set up to give student orgs a versatile and all-encompassing web hosting service while simultaneously helping their professional appearance.

screen shot of u.osu.edu/osuphigam

U.OSU sites are multi-functional and can be set up as static websites, blogs, or a group site (or all three!). Most student organizations will see value in a static website or incorporating a static front page to a group blog. Check out this fraternity’s awesome page. The static site option is ideal for groups such as this one because you can just add and hide new content when necessary.

“Our graduate philanthropy golf outing had a registration page but now that’s over so we get rid of that page and replace it with a recruitment tab,” said Jacob Menken, the recording secretary for Phi Gamma Delta and primary manager of their website.

Even if you want to have one page with blog-like updates, you can have multiple static pages, including a static homepage, like this postdoctoral association. U.OSU is a WordPress platform so many students feel a sense of familiarity with the Dashboard and find setting up a site is simple with a little background knowledge or quick glance of the Resource Center, like this tutorial on setting up static sites and pages.

Another valuable feature for student organizations is the ability to add users and assign roles with varied permissions. The roles range from an administrator, who has full access and control of the site, down to subscribers. These permissions make it easier to give members on an executive board the power to edit certain posts while the head of the organization can still filter and review content.

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How To: Add Users and Assign Roles

Maintaining a blog or managing a website can seem daunting; luckily there is safety in numbers. U.OSU allows for multiple users to increase collaboration and participation on your site.

You can invite anyone with an active OSU username (lastname.#) to contribute to your site, they can easily sign up for a U.OSU site to get started. An instructor might add students to spark group discussion, a student organization could add an advisor to moderate content, or a group studying abroad could all blog while traveling.

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