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UTHSC-H |
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Information Disclaimer | |
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The Office of Academic Computing (OAC) has established "Web
Guidelines Handbook" at the request of web authors for reference
material on how to best develop departmental web sites. For that reason the end of this document includes a list of links to "Policies and Procedures" issued by UT-Houston. As part of the mission of OAC, we provide web access to technical resources which adhere to Federal, State and University Laws. |
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Suggestions
and Comments Welcome.
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Author:George
J. Rogers |
Drafted: 05/22/01 |
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Editor:Beth
D. Ardoin |
Published for Comments: 05/31/01 |
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Last Update: 07/19/01 |
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Overview - Back to Top The University of Texas - Health Science Center at Houston (UT-Houston) enterprise has established a web site (http://www.uth.tmc.edu) which is `accessible through the Internet and local intranet, it is for public, faculty, staff, student, and guest use worldwide. It provides access to both public and private information through a web browser. The purpose of UTHSC-H web site is to share information about the university and its schools in an efficient and effective manner to the public and to employees alike. This will allow the public and employees to gain and share the knowledge necessary to achieve the goals of the university. The intended audience for this document includes users of the UTHSC-H web
site. This includes users, authors, publishers and managers of the
information. |
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Roles & Responsibilities - Back to Top The most important person in making UTHSC-H a success is you. The more you use UTHSC-H and the more you demand the information you need be placed on it, the more useful a tool it becomes to the enterprise. A list of the people and groups involved in preparing web content and administering UTHSC-H follows.
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UTHSC-H WEB SITE USERS - Back to Roles Role Use UTHSC-H to gain and share knowledge about the enterprise and to do work. Public and Private usage available. Responsibilities
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UTHSC-H EXECUTIVE SPONSOR - Back to Roles Role Provide management support, guidance and counsel in maximizing the capabilities of UTHSC-H as a business tool. Responsibilities
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UTHSC-H (OAC) WEB SITE CONTENT COORDINATOR - Back to Roles Role Develop and implement an Intranet that supports the exchange of information among business organizations and employees. Represent management on matters related to UTHSC-H applications and usage. Provide technical support for web content management. Responsibilities
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UTHSC-H (OAC) SCRIPTORIUM - Back to Roles Role Support UTHSC-H departments with Web Site development by preparing content (text, graphics, images, audio, video) for the web and for learningware. Responsibilities
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UTHSC-H (OAC) SYSTEMS NETWORK SUPPORT - Back to Roles Role Ensure the UTHSC-H Web Servers are properly configured and maintained. Responsibilities
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UTHSC-H DEPARTMENTAL WEB SITE CONTENT COORDINATORS - Back to Roles Role Provide guidance to a team in developing web sites that support the enterprise in achieving its objectives. A team is a working group defined as an organization, area, function, and/or department. Responsibilities
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UTHSC-H CONTENT OWNERS - Back to Roles Role Serve as focal point for the department or group that wishes to publish and share information via UTHSC-H. Content Owner is a department head or its designated represenative. Responsibilities
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UTHSC-H WEB PAGE AUTHORS - Back to Roles Role Create web pages for UTHSC-H utilizing editing software. Responsibilities
In many instances one person serves both roles. Contact the member who represents your area (noted at the bottom of each web page) if you are interested in adding information to your department, function or site page. |
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UTHSC-H COUNCIL - Back to Roles Role Provide feedback on the development, maintenance and improvement of the enterprise Internet / Intranet. Responsibilities
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Web Site Information / Content - Back to Top For the purpose of this document information published on a web site will be referred to as Content. Content may be classified public, private or confidential. Each classification must be handled differently, according to federal and state regulations.
UTHSC-H contains: Web site content categories.
Content of a web site generally fits into one of three categories.
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Acceptable Web Pages - Back to Top UTHSC-H is intended to be the single source for storing web based university
information stored on Web pages stored on UTHSC-H web servers should meet certain guidelines. Web page owners should refer to the guidelines and make any changes necessary. Given the universities low-cost focus, however, money and time should not be spent on redesigning existing pages that currently do not meet the guidelines. Over time, as these pages are modified, improvements will be made in order to comply with design guidelines. Minimum requirements for web pages on UTHSC-H web sites are as follows:
OAC reserves the right to disable any web pages that do not meet
federal, state or university policies.
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Follow the simple instructions to request a web presence on the UTHSC-H web site.
Note: Once material is reviewed and approved, creation and access to the department or clinical web directory will be issued to the web site owner and web page authors. The department or clinic that is represented by the web site is responsible
for the site, content collection, content distribution and any information
presented in the site. OAC provides web site disk storage and network
administration of hardware and software resources only. Responsibility
for web site content lies within the department or clinic originating
content. |
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Web Site Compliance Guidelines - Back to To
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| Design Guidelines - Back
to Top Design Guidelines are provided for the design of text and graphics. Web page templates and links to existing pages are provided as examples of "Best Practice" methods. These best practice methods will speed up the time it takes to develop and maintain a web site. They will also help you keep the cost and time of maintenance down to a minimum. Other designs are acceptable if the pages are already in existence. Over time, as existing pages are revised, the design will need to come into compliance with UTHSC-H guidelines, policies, and procedures. The following "Design Guidelines" are suggested recommendations for "Best Practice" methods for designing web sites. Adobe Acrobat & Portable Document Format (PDF) Anchor Animations Note: Web pages should not be overly graphical or animated without
a purpose. If using animations, make certain that the file size is
small. Animations can interfere with printing, loading and navigation
mechanisms. Constant motion can be very annoying to some users who
are trying to read the page. Looping animations causes a constant
loading cycle to be performed. Animations should be used only if they
add clarity to the information or content being presented. Blinking Images and Blinking Text Bookmarks Brochures and Pamphlets Bulletin Boards Calendars Charts Colors Content Approvals
Contact Information Copyright Data Base Directories Documents Download Speeds Excel (Example: <a href:"http://uth.tmc.edu/aims/test.xls"
target="body">) Font - (Example) Footer Forms Frames Graphic Guidelines Graphic Design Graphs - See charts. Hard Copy Materials For text there are generally two methods, you can scan it in and using an optical character recognition (OCR) program to convert the scanned information to text files or, you can retype the text into your computer. If you have OCR scanning capabilities, this is usually the best approach for high volumes of copies. For a low volume of copies it might be easier to just retype the information. Images can be scanned and then manipulated on the computer. However, sometimes electronic copies of the images are available. This is by far the best approach since the original images are usually of much higher quality, and have not been manipulated or altered. HTML - Hypertext Markup Language Images Images can be scanned and saved in any of the graphics formats that can be read by Microsoft Photo Editor (the enterprise standard), Adobe Photoshop or another graphic editing tool. Images can be manipulated and converted to one of the formats (GIF or JPG) required by HTML. The JPG format is better for photographs, whereas the (GIF) format is better for graphs and charts. It is preferable to reference (thus re-use) images within a web site instead of creating new ones. You can use a small set of navigational icons that appear on every page on your web site. To do this, place the commonly used images in a directory and point all references to these images to the same location. This is preferred over copying the common images to each sub-directory. Being able to produce high quality, but low file-size images is critical to an efficient web page. Knowledge of image scanning, image processing and computer-based drawing and illustration is highly recommended for people who are doing any significant amount of work with web graphics. Image File Format - *.gif, *.jpg Applications such as Microsoft Photo Editor and Adobe Photoshop can enhance, modify, reformat, re-color, and resize scanned images, but requires some experience with image processing. Lists Logo's META Tags Monitor Differences Navigation Photos Plug Ins PDF - Portable Documents File PowerPoint
Fortunately, PowerPoint is a standard application on most enterprise
computers, so most can open the file. Set the target to "body"
to open the PowerPoint slideshow in a new occurrence of Internet Explorer
or Netscape. Note: The text in your PowerPoint presentation must be large enough to be viewed easily within the web browser. Users will also need to close the presentation to return to your web page. Resolution Restricted Web Pages or Directories Search UTHSC-H current search capability is restricted to WEB PAGES using Netscape Publisher and to those pages submitted to the CWIS database from the university home page. Software Sound Tables Text Title Your Page Tile Tag Format: <Title>School of Nursing homepage</Title> Updating Content Video
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Suggested Homepage Links - Back to Top Five Suggested Links for UT-Houston Web Pages UTHSC-H guidelines recommend that you locate the following links either in text or graphically on your departments home page.
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Content and Design Tips - Back to Top
There is no single recipe or structure to a good web site that you can
apply to all types of content. Good Web Design comes from organizing your
content and viewing your content as your visitor to your web site would see
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Glossary - Back to Top Animation - Moving images. File format includes, MPG's, AVI's, and GIF's. Authentication - A method used to identify a computer user before granting permission to network resources. Permissions include read, write, and execute network resources. Client/Server - A computing paradigm wherein processing is divided between a graphical front-end application running on a user's desktop machine and a back-end server that performs data or storage-intensive processing tasks in response to client service requests. Body - The main structure of any Web document. Bookmark - A way to save web sites for easy recall in the future in a web browser. Browser - A program that requests documents from web servers and displays them on your computer. Common Gateway Interface (CGI) - The way browsers communicate with and request services from web servers. Content - Text or Graphic information presented through a web browser over the Internet or intranet. Domain Name Servers (DNS) -A computer that resolves domain names (i.e. lyondell.com.) into physical addresses. File Transfer Protocol (FTP) - An Internet protocol and service that provides network file transfer between any two network nodes for which a user has file access rights. Firewall Servers -A computer that filters incoming and outgoing network traffic to create a secure environment. Graphical User Interface (GUI; pronounced "gooey") - A program that makes graphics possible on the Intranet. Graphics Information File (GIF) - A compressed graphics file
format patented by CompuServe and widely used online to create graphical
elements.
Internet Protocol (IP) - The way computers communicate between each other over the Internet. Intranet - A web-based network for internal use. It is a network with restricted access that works like the Internet, but is contained completely within the enterprise. Joint Photographic Experts' Group (JPG) - A highly compressible graphics format designed to handle computer images of high-resolution including photographs. Lightweight Directory Access Protocol (LDAP) - LDAP is a directory access service which gathers information across the university from Beeps, SIS, and Guest databases. The information is used for access authorization of web based information. Example: Restricted public access to departmental information. Network File System (NFS) - A distributed file system originated by Sun Microsystems that is in wide use in TCP/IP networking environments. NFS allows users to access remote file systems as though they were an extension of their local hard drives. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) - A type of software that can recognize characters as they occur in faxes or speed subsequent requests. RGB Values - This is used by web developers and refers to the amount of red, green and blue in the colors on web pages. Search Engine - A special web program that can search the contents of web pages based on keywords or other varibles supplied by the user. Thumbnail - A miniature graphic used to link to a full-sized graphic. The thumbnail is smaller in size and will load quicker than the larger graphic. Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) - The
basic suite of protocols used to manage network communications and
applications over the Uniform Resource Locator (URL) - The primary naming scheme used to identify web resources. URLs define the protocols to be used, the domain name of the web server where a resource resides, the port address to be use for communication and directory path to access a named web document or resource. World Wide Web (WWW) - A technical definition of the World Wide Web is: all the resources and users on the Internet that are using the Hypertext Transfer Protocol. Its becoing the universe of network-accessible information, an embodiment of human knowledge. WYSIWYG (What you see is what you get; sometimes pronounced
"Wizzywig") - A layout that shows users on-screen what a final,
finished document will look like.
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Frequently Asked Questions - Back
to Top 1. Who can access the Intranet, UTHSC-H?
3. When is the UTHSC-H available? 4. What information can be loaded on the UTHSC-H? Any information pertinent to the schools, students, faculty, and employees of UT-Houston that maybe is of value publicly or privately may be located on the UTHSC-H servers. 5. Our site lists recreational opportunities; will UTHSC-H allow this? Site-specific information should be loaded on the site server and adhere to guidelines established by the Web Site Content Coordinator. Recreational opportunities that arise because UTHSC-H is involved in community relations activities may appear on the UTHSC-H intranet. 6. What information is not allowed? Personnal advertising, illegal copies of copyright protected content, text or graphical, and public display of patient or client information is disallowed. 7. What is the procedure for having content loaded onto
the UTHSC-H? 8. How long does the information publishing process take? If the material is provided in HTML and formatted to adhere to the "Web Guidelines Handbook" provided, loading can be accomplished in a very short time. However, you must send your request in advance to get your project scheduled. Projects will occur on a first-come, first serve basis as time allows. Emergency or similarly critical information can be loaded immediately but must follow the same standards and should be submitted respectful of other's time schedules. 9. Do I have to hire a graphic designer to prepare the content I want published? No. By following the "Standards and Guidelines" you will find it very easy to publish and maintain a very professional looking web site. If additional design support is needed you can contact the "Scriptorium" manager for directions. 10. I already have designed a web site. Do I have to redesign it to fit into the look of UTHSC-H. Yes, although, given cost and resource constraints, you may be allowed to load your site right away if it is deemed to have critical business information. You must provide a schedule for when you will redesign your web pages to adhere to established UT-Houston policies. 11. Will OAC provide support in developing a web site or pages? Development of web pages is made at the discreation of the Scriptorium staff including consideration of time and task. Departments, whose sites have been approved, can access the standard tools so that they may develop sites themselves. For assistance with the initial development, contact the UTHSC-H OAC Web Site Content Coordinator for instructions. If additional design support is needed, contact the "Scriptorium" manager. 12. Does UTHSC-H contain a phone directory?
Yes. Located on the UTHSC-H home page you will find the "White Pages
Directory". The White Pages Directory is published by the Office
of Academic Computing in cooperation with Management Systems Support,
Information Services. For this reason it is important for
employees to make sure their contact information is accurate and up-to-date.
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Links to Reference Materials - Back to Top
HOOP - Handbook of Operating Procedures by The University of Texas - Health Science Center at Houston HIPAA Federal Guidelines - Public Law 104-191, The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, was signed into law on August 21, 1996. FERPA State Guidelines - Family Educational Rights And Privacy Act Internet Use and Publishing Guidelines - by Web Weavers of The University of Texas - Health Science Center at Houston
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What's New to Standards and Guidelines - Back to Top Changes are highlighted by date as they are made here and linked back to the section modified.
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