Student group gets funds to go off new Web host

As more than 600 student organizations change their Web site hosting to Joomla, at least one group wants to use student fees for professional help.

But there are mixed opinions on whether professionally created Web sites are necessary, or if Joomla, the University’s new content management system, is sufficient.

Students for Students International, an organization that funds education for women in Tanzania, said it cannot make the Web site that members want using Joomla.

They received $800 from Student Congress on Tuesday to hire a Web developer for the site.

According to the official funding request, S4Si found that Joomla was not complex enough to create a professional-grade page.

The request cited specific features that S4Si wants to incorporate into its Web site such as a blog capability, search engine optimization, both YouTube and Facebook integration as well as a Really Simple Syndication searchable news feed.

But Brian Payst, director of technology and systems support for the division of student affairs, said Joomla is capable of creating and managing all of those features with the exception of Facebook integration.

“I would differ on their opinion,” Payst said. “Joomla right now already does the things they’re looking for, and it does them for free.”

At the Congress meeting, several legislators wondered if the Web site funding was vital to the organization, or only beneficial.

S4Si member Matt Garza said the fundraising aspect of a professional Web site would be crucial.

“We believe it’s vital to our student organization in terms of our goals to expand and improve,” Garza said.

Others who have experience using Joomla are not entirely in agreement with Payst’s opinion.

Payst said more experienced programmers are better equipped to add more complex features to the basic template than novices.

But a basic Web site is not difficult.

“Joomla makes it really easy to change content without knowing anything about Web sites,” said Thomas Edwards co-chairman of the technology and web services committee of student government.

“It is not there to do graphic design and things that are traditionally features of professional Web sites.”

He said the purpose of offering Joomla templates was the opportunity to create a basic, efficient Web site that could be easily maintained by someone who is not a computer expert.

Alpha Phi Omega, a co-ed service fraternity, is one organization that has recently transferred web content to Joomla.

President Rachel McInturff said overall the new system is somewhat easier to update and maintain compared to its predecessor Mambo, but for the most part the features are fairly similar.

“As far as creating a professional-looking Web site, it still has the free software look,” she said.

Payst said the Department of Information Technology for the Division of Student Affairs will provide assistance to organizations looking to create a new Web site using Joomla.



Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.