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Transforming Your Web site Into a 24/7 Service Center
6/29/2004
We branded the system, naming it “Ask Shasta,” after UH’s cougar mascot. We put links to the Ask Shasta system in prominent positions on the UH home page, and promoted it through UH publications and other programs. This promotion was critical for gaining the necessary mindshare across our entire student population.
The impact of the Ask Shasta system has been tremendous. Use of the Web by students and other constituencies rose dramatically from 11,622 “answer views” in November 2002 to 21,917 in October 2003. As a result, phone calls have decreased substantially—in some cases, by as much as 25 percent. In addition, entry-level department employees can use the knowledge base to answer questions instead of having to wait for subject-matter experts to respond to the queries. This saves UH money, and allows department experts to focus on their primary work responsibilities.
And, because they’ve been reviewed and approved by assigned content managers, the answers on our site are always consistent and accurate.
The lesson for other universities is that the Web can indeed be a powerful channel for serving the broad information needs of students and other constituencies. Conventional approaches to Web content creation and management, however, are insufficient for exploiting the full potential of the university Web site. Instead, more sophisticated knowledge management technology and a more strategic, institution-wide approach to content and communication are essential.
Betty Roberts (BJRoberts@central.uh.edu) is associate vice president of technology
support services at the University of Houston.
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