The launch of the new Arkansas State University website has sparked discussions among students in classrooms across campus. Some say the website’s modernization has improved aesthetics; however, moving certain navigation tools has frustrated others searching for resources.  

Among these students is a campus student worker, Kaydence Walls, a junior communication studies major from Percy, Arkansas. 

“As a student, there wasn’t a lot of support or advice that could come from faculty with the questions you had in navigating it,” Walls said.

Walls said she’s not the only one having difficulty with finding things on the website. 

“A lot of people don’t know how to navigate the website,” Walls said.

However, Walls said she likes the new menu page. She said it makes frequently used links readily available.

Vice Chancellor for Distance Education & Technology Chris Boothman and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer Todd Clark led the launch of the revamped website. 

They said they understand the frustration many users may have with the new site. 

Clark said the biggest challenge related to launching any website serving a university the size of A-State is the volume and number of stakeholders involved.

“You’ve got prospective students and their families. You’ve got current students and employees that use the website every day,” Clark said. “With a website of this magnitude, that has a large variety of audiences, we’re trying to make sure that we’re putting the right content online and prioritizing the audiences in the right way.” 

Boothman said the previous iteration of the website launched in 2012. He said updating to a new website became a greater challenge every year that passed.

Clark said having a plan to address the challenges and issues that will inevitably come along is a necessary part of building a new website.

“We can monitor analytics and feedback that we receive from the campus community. The institution has invested in resources to actively manage and maintain the website going forward,” Clark said. “We didn’t flip the switch, turn it on and walk away. There are four or five employees that spend all day on the website.”

Clark said the website will continue to evolve and adapt and the university is invested in maintaining it.

One addition to the new website is the AI chatbot named Howl.

Boothman said A-State acknowledged concerns students had about the possibility of misinformation when interacting with artificial intelligence and, to address it, trained the AI chatbot to retrieve information only from the website and the knowledge database.

Boothman said one of the most valuable features of the chatbot is its ability to notify various offices around campus. 

“If there are any trigger words the student or any user puts in chat, we have notifications set up to actually go to different offices,” Boothman said.

Overall, Clark and Boothman are pleased with their efforts. However, Clark said it will continue to evolve. 

“It will continue to adapt, and the university is invested in maintaining it in perpetuity,” Clark said. 

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