The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences' website migration was a multi-year, collaborative project rooted in research, analysis, and stakeholder feedback that included students, faculty, staff, leadership, and real-time CLAS website visitors—like you! 

In addition to aligning with industry research around how college students use the web, this research and discovery drove our decision to create two distinct, publicly accessible sites:

• The CLAS Resource site (resource.clas.uiowa.edu) houses information and resources for current faculty and staff and is used to communicate collegiate updates and business.
• The main CLAS site (clas.uiowa.edu) is optimized for prospective and current students to help them learn about the college, majors, and student services.

The decision to create a separate website for use primarily by faculty and staff is in line with peer colleges, including the University of Minnesota and Iowa State University. 

3 things to know about the CLAS Resource site

1. It's designed for you. As part of the feedback, faculty and staff said pages were hard to find, sometimes redundant, and often dated. The structure and proactive governance plan for the new CLAS Resource site are designed to help you find what you're looking for quickly using an alphabetical navigation structure.
2. The navigation includes seven key topics:
   • Administration contains information about and for leaders of the college.
   • Business Updates provides the most recent Business Updates and archives. Articles are also integrated into relevant collegiate operations sections for future reference.
   • Collegiate operations contain separate sections for each administrative collegiate function team (HR, Finance, GSO, IT, Marcom, etc.) with day-to-day resources and information about that topic.
   • Instruction organizes key topics of curriculum, undergraduate teaching policy, and procedure (in concert with the CLAS Policy site), resources for supporting students including academic resources, mental health and wellness, as well as honors.
   • Faculty affairs includes faculty appointment and review, the faculty review schedule, professional policies, and faculty responsibilities resources.
   • Research and grant support includes a cross-link to the GSO office, other research support at the university, CLAS shops, and the Research Resource newsletter.
   • CLAS directory features listings of CLAS administrative offices, addresses, phone numbers, organizational charts, main contacts by unit, and more.
3. If you cannot find what you're looking for, we're here to help. While the navigation is written for and focused on supporting faculty and staff, sometimes the work you do and the information you're looking for will span both websites and audiences. Instead of repeating information in multiple places, we use cross-linking and follow an audience-first strategy when determining where the information is housed. We hope you'll be able to find the information you need with our streamlined navigation on each site, but if you run into any trouble, we've created a resource to help you navigate the CLAS websites. It features a guide to help you find information on both sites across six topics. You can also always contact us.

3 things to know about the main CLAS site

1. It serves students first. Your work is important, and we're here to support you and the students you serve. In contrast to the day-to-day resources and information provided for faculty and staff on the CLAS Resource site, the main CLAS site is designed for students to find information related to academics, student support, scholarships, research, and the college through a streamlined and strategic main navigation. 
2. It highlights the support you provide students. The important role you have in student experience—including advising, academic support, experiential learning, general education CLAS Core, academic policy, and more—is prominently highlighted in each section. Additionally, stories about your work and the impact you are having on CLAS students are strategically weaved throughout each relevant page, as well as on this collective news page for students.
3. It shares and celebrates your significant research and scholarship. The main CLAS website highlights achievements, celebrates grant awards, and outlines the research happening in both the arts and humanities, and in the natural, mathematical, and social sciences.

Please share your feedback 

As you explore the new websites, please share if you notice any hiccups or have any suggestions for improvement. The best way to do this is through the website feedback form. Your comments are important, especially as we work to improve the sites in the future.