We often hear from students and staff that navigating Â鶹´«Ã½Íøվ’s websites, whether to confirm requirements, compare options, or find services, can leave them with more questions than answers.
Across Â鶹´«Ã½Íøվ’s digital ecosystem, information isn't always consistent, predictable, or easy to connect. The same concept may be described differently on a faculty site, a central service page, or a system‑generated listing. In some cases, key terms mean different things depending on where you encounter them.
For website visitors, this creates confusion. For staff, it creates extra work and operational challenges.
Earlier this year, we launched our Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ Content Model Project to address these issues at their source.
Why this problem exists
Over decades of growth, Â鶹´«Ã½Íøվ’s digital environment has evolved into a vast and complex ecosystem. Today it includes over one thousand websites, hundreds of site managers, and numerous platforms and systems, all contributing content in different ways.
Without a shared underlying structure, similar information is recreated multiple times, described using different language, and connected inconsistently. Over time, these small differences compound, resulting in fragmented navigation, duplicated content, and difficulty keeping information aligned.
In an ecosystem as large as ours, focusing on individual pages can sometimes help in the short term, but it doesn’t solve the underlying problem.
How a content model can help us tame the beast
A content model is a shared blueprint for organizing information. It defines the basic types of content we use, such as programs, courses, services, people, and events, and how they relate to one another, so content can be structured consistently across Â鶹´«Ã½Íøվ’s digital environment. Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s Course Catalogue is an example of structured information thatÂ
Rather than focusing on individual websites, a content model focuses on establishing a shared content foundation.
By developing a content model, we'll establish a common understanding of a common understanding of Â鶹´«Ã½Íøվ’s core content types, such as programs, courses, services, people, and events, and defines how they relate to one another.
This makes it easier to answer basic but important questions consistently, such as:
- What information belongs to a program versus a course?
- How do services support academic experiences?
- How are people, units, and offerings connected institutionally?
By agreeing on these foundations, we can support local complexity within a shared structure, rather than letting that complexity create confusion for our users.
Why this matters now, especially as we explore AI
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AI systems don’t process information the way people do. They rely on clear reference points, consistent concepts, explicit relationships, and reliable sources. When content is fragmented or loosely structured, AI tools can produce incomplete or misleading results, even when the underlying information is technically correct.
A content model will help:
- Clarifying what information represents, so AI systems can distinguish between programs, components, services, and policies.
- Reducing duplication, making it easier to identify authoritative sources.
- Defining relationships to support easier discovery and make personalization possible.
A shared foundation for people first
While readiness for AI is an important benefit, the primary goal remains the same, making Â鶹´«Ã½Íøվ’s digital information easier for people to understand and navigate.
- For students, this means clearer answers, more intuitive pathways, and fewer contradictions.
- For staff, it means less duplication, clearer ownership, and easier maintenance.
- For communicators and developers, it means a shared framework that supports consistency across platforms.
Next steps
We are closely working with subject matter experts across Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ to draft a working content model by June 2026. Then, we will work to refine and apply that model to Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾'s digital ecosystem over time.
Read about other foundational initiatives lead by the Web Services team with input from across the Â鶹´«Ã½ÍøÕ¾ community:
