Each semester the Pierce College Web site (www.piercecollege.edu) is plastered with the same old photos and content, giving the impression that the college’s electronic “business card” to the public, isn’t worth updating.
Pierce is a vibrant place of learning, yet we suffer the embarrassment of old content on our Web site that is riddled with outdated information and broken hyper-links.
This is unacceptable.According to Information Technology (Info Tech), a new Web site will soon debut.
The new system will allow individual departments to maintain their own web pages — a far cry from the way things are now.
However, this revamped Web site doesn’t have a firm launch date, so we are left to endure the status quo indefinitely.
We’re glad that Info Tech is focused on the new site, but why neglect what we have now?
Yes, the marketing and public relations department makes sure the “News & Events” information stays current, but this is a rare exception.
Many of the current web pages haven’t been updated in a year or more, which is Info Tech’s responsibility.
So, for the time being, the new faculty page will still show last year’s hires while the newest professors go unacknowledged.
In an effort to improve the quality of the Pierce Web site, and those of other LACCD schools, a new web Content Management System (CMS) has been initiated district-wide.
Info Tech Manager Mark Henderson, hired last year, said L.A. Mission College (www.lamission.edu), which is already using the system, looks and is utilized similar to the forthcoming Pierce Web site.
East L.A. College (www.elac.edu) also uses this system, which offers student e-mail addresses.
Though Valley College (www.lavc.edu)and Southwest College (www.lasc.edu) do not use CMS, they still manage to provide student e-mail while Henderson isn’t sure if this will even be offered on the new Pierce Web site.
Some of the faculty have complaints about the current system as the e-mail works sporadically, leading many to create outside e-mail addresses to communicate with students, other professors and staff.
Moreover, professors have circumvented the Info Tech department entirely by creating their own Web sites. We need to realize we are seven years into the new century but still using 20th century technology.
Our 21st century students expect and deserve better.
()