Hi, Drupalites!
If you’re like us, this semester has been a blur! We’ve made it past the D10 upgrade, wrapped up the academic program page integration with the catalog, are now able to share next steps about GA4, and are close to launching several new, valuable websites. These launches will very likely require you to make web copy and link updates.
Does your website link to:
- One Stop?
- Financial Aid?
- Registrar?
- Bursar?
- Global Education and/or Education Abroad and its programs?
Then flag your calendars for the weeks of June 3-21 to make updates.
See below.
Who Will Create KSU’s Millionth Drupal NID?
If our recent projects have taught us anything, it’s that we have a great university team of dedicated web editors. If there’s anything else we have learned, it’s that Drupal loves content!
Looking at our Node ID count, we’re getting close to creating node 1,000,000. That’ll be /node/1000000 when it goes live.
What will it be? A simple internal basic page for an accordion? A grand homepage for a new initiative? Who will make it? We’ll find out soon!
Web Team would like to bestow upon the user who makes node 1,000,000 a 3D-printed trophy commemorating their contribution to Kent State’s website - and a mini-feature in our next listserv!
Key Website Launches - Be Prepared to Update Copy and Links in June
As mentioned, many website launches and changes are coming in June.
One Stop, Financial Aid, Registrar, Bursar
The One Stop, Financial Aid and Registrar websites and certain Bursar web pages will all be bundled into one umbrella website named: the Financial, Billing and Enrollment Center.
As a result, most copy references and links to these websites will require manual updates by you and your colleagues. While we are deploying redirects to help appropriately route traffic, it is always best to link to the respective node ID (NID). Because we cannot automate copy updates, we will need assistance in revising copy to the new website name. The projected launch date is June 2.
Please watch for updates announcing the launch so that you can begin your copy changes and link resets. We have run Siteimprove reports to identify a first-round of pages we know will require updates. Find link and copy references to these sites here:
- Registrar
- Financial Aid
- One Stop
Education Abroad
Education Abroad will launch a brand-new, stand-alone site to better showcase our study away opportunities. We know that many academic departments link to Education Abroad pages. These URLs will change! To provide your students with the best experience possible as they explore international program opportunities, please take time to find your new node IDs to which you will need to link so that you update them appropriately. Find the new NIDs for programs.
Reminders:
- DO NOT RESET LINKS UNTIL WE ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH DATE, which is likely to be mid to late June.
- DO NOT LINK to any alias URL, as the URLs you will see at the demo link will change.
- Link ONLY to NIDs and only AFTER WE ANNOUNCE THE LAUNCH.
Protect Your Web Analytics - Set Calendar Reminders for Exports. Here’s Why.
As Google transitions away from Universal Analytics to Google Analytics 4 (GA4) in entirety and we are leaning into GA4 moving forward, be aware of two important issues:
- Google plans to remove all historical data held in Universal Analytics by July 1, 2024. This means you will no longer have access to the historical data stored in the old Universal Analytics platform.
- If you need to retain any data from previous years for future reference, please export it from Universal Analytics by June 28, 2024.
- Note: We started collecting data in GA4 in April 2022, and this data is not affected by the deletion of the Universal Analytics data.
- GA4 only retains certain visitor information for up to 14 months.
- As a result, if you believe that you will want to do year-to-year comparisons in GA4 with all visitor data, we encourage you to make a calendar reminder to download and save reports every month so that you can refer back to data older than 14 months in the future.
- Note: We are already beyond the 14-month mark, so you could start this monthly process now, if it is something you deem important.
Here are the instructions for creating a department-specific Explorer report in GA4. If you need access to GA4, submit a ticket using the button found on www.kent.edu/websupport.
Looking to Add Courses to Your Websites? Now You Can - and on Autopilot!
For academic webmasters who are manually entering courses onto your websites, our Information Technology partners have found a way to save you time and improve your content accuracy by extending the program page API with the catalog to now include course listings!
Please be sure to:
- Adjust your processes.
- Remove your manually curated content.
- Leverage automation with the catalog by integrating course offerings using the Catalog Courses Block. This content block can be added to your page layout, pulling in the most up-to-date course offerings from the University Catalog. You can choose to display all courses or categorize them by course level.
For detailed instructions on how to add the Catalog Courses Block to your page, please visit our API instructions page.
Why Won’t My Web Updates Show Right Away? Now, They Can!
Are your changes not appearing as fast as you (or your boss) would like? Tired of asking Web Team to clear a page’s cache? Now you can clear it yourself!
Thanks to our partners in Information Technology, we are introducing “Clear Node Cache!” Simply put, it clears the stored copy of the page and tells the site to pull the most recent changes so everyone can see the most updated version of your page.
Starting Thursday, May 16, find “Clear Node Cache” at the bottom of your “Open Utilities” menu! It will take you to a menu where you can clear the cache yourself!
Note: Please use this feature sparingly. Clearing the cache is not necessary with every page update, only with updates that appear to get “stuck” in some users’ browsers.
Summer Brings Blue Skies … and a New Blue Accordion Style
We have modified the Accordion paragraph to include an additional blue background option. This option stretches full-width when used on homepages. Check the “Full Width” box on the paragraph options in your node’s editing menu to activate the alternative blue style.
Here’s a comparison between the two styles:
We’ve Improved Your Editing Experience!
We're excited to share significant improvements to paragraph types in our Drupal installation. Previously, most paragraph types relied on a generic description and the default thumbnail. To enhance the editing experience for experienced and new users, we've created custom thumbnails and concise descriptions for our 35+ paragraph types.
What's New?
- Custom Thumbnails: Each of these paragraph types now has a unique thumbnail that makes it easier to identify and provides a visual preview of what to expect. Thumbnails are available in grid view.
- Brief Descriptions: Descriptions provide context on how each paragraph works and detail its customization options. They are visible in all views and searchable using the appropriate checkbox near the search bar.
Benefits
- Faster Identification: The new thumbnails and descriptions make it quicker and easier to find the right paragraph type.
- Educational: The descriptions help users understand how each paragraph works, giving newer users confidence in content creation.
Important Notes
While most paragraphs now include these features, some paragraph types are still without thumbnails or descriptions. Not all paragraphs are visible to all users or available for every content type.
Do You Request FlashLine Banners for Important Announcements?
The Division of Information Technology has partnered with University Communications and Marketing (UCM) to expand the universitywide communication request form so that it now also accepts and routes requests for placement of FlashLine banner/hero images.
To improve processes and prevent requests from getting lost in individual email inboxes, please leverage the communication request form for:
- FlashLine notifications (appear behind the red bell in the masthead of FlashLine)
- FlashLine banners
- University emails, when criteria are met
- Promotion of events/news on: Faculty Staff News Now, Kent State Today, Kent State University website, KSU Mobile and Kent State institutional social media platforms
Access the form from the UCM home page’s Communication Request button.
Copyright Content Reminder
As a reminder, the use of copyrighted content on our web pages is strictly prohibited due to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). This notice is particularly relevant given the increasing number of DMCA Copyright Infringement Notices received by the university’s General Counsel regarding the university's online platforms. Compliance with DMCA regulations is legally mandated and essential for upholding ethical standards and respecting intellectual property rights. Therefore, all Drupalites are urged to exercise caution and refrain from incorporating copyrighted materials without proper authorization to avoid potential legal consequences.
To learn more about Kent State University’s Copyright Services, please visit the Copyright and Intellectual Property Gateway.
Please continue to submit issues you need help resolving to FreshService via the Submit a Ticket button at www.kent.edu/websupport.
Web Team
Jared Boehm, Senior Manager, Digital Enterprise Solutions
Lin Danes, Executive Director of Digital Communications (Web Services)
Alex Herbers, Web Designer
Eddie Lampert, Student Web Support Specialist
Maghan Larkins, Web Content Coordinator
Paul McKinney, Web Designer
Tim Priester, Web Designer & Services Lead;
Todd Randolph, Senior Applications Developer
Natalie Timmerman, Web Content Coordinator