Decision-Making Authority in a Partnership Model

Summary

The WSU website is maintained via a collaborative partnership between MarComm who serve as communications experts and campus departments who serve as subject matter experts. The goal is always to communicate information to our target audiences that is relevant to their needs and in a manner that meets their expectations. 

How the Website Partnership Works

In this partnership, campus departments are the subject matter experts—the people who know the essential details about the programs, services, processes, and resources available at WSU. The MarComm team are the marketing and communications experts—the people who know how to develop high-quality content that serves the target audience and aligns with institutional strategy and brand identity. 

The goal is always to communicate information to our target audiences that is relevant to their needs and in a manner that meets their expectations. 

After good faith attempts to provide explanation and/or make reasonable compromises, MarComm has the final decision-making authority in regard to: 

  • Site Architecture – including relocating content out of department sites into other sub-sites, eliminating department sites entirely, and determining menu structures 
  • Page Layouts – including templates, design blocks, and general content organization within a page 
  • Page Titles – primarily for SEO value and user experience 
  • Photos – in terms of selection and placement 
  • Copy – in terms of styling and phrasing without losing accuracy of essential information, determining what needs to be retained on the public-facing site 
  • Documents – including determining whether these need to be retained on the public-facing site 

The rationale behind these decisions includes but is not limited to: 

  • Brand standards 
  • Web content strategy 
  • Functional limitations in the template 
  • Accessibility legal requirements 
  • Industry best practices 

Learn More

If you have further questions about the Website Platform Strategy, reach out to Elizabeth Berres, Director of Digital Content Strategy, at elizabeth.berres@winona.edu. 

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