During last December's inaugural Converge Conference, the UIT Communications team hosted a session seeking insights from the community on how to keep campus IT members better connected and in the loop.
You spoke
First and foremost, thank you to all who attended and shared feedback at Converge and in recent months about communications needs for the IT community. The goal was to fill any gaps in how UIT communicates with distributed IT across campus.
Of the feedback received, a few recurring pain points stood out:
- The IT Community website is confusing: The navigation on the homepage made it difficult for visitors to find what they are looking for.
- There are too many emails: IT Community members receive at least two monthly newsletters from UIT Communications and often couldn't recall which newsletter contained which update.
- There is no sense of shared community: The website felt like it was focused on UIT staff and was not a space for IT staff across campus to share their news.
We listened
In the last several months, the UIT Communications team has been working to address these concerns. We are excited to share these updates to better engage our IT community.
IT Community website refresh
The IT Community website has been updated to better reflect the news, programs, resources, and events available for IT staff across campus. The revamped homepage separates recent news into two categories: Community news and IT Service-related news, making it easier to navigate to the news story you are looking for.
The homepage also features links to IT Connect + Grow, upcoming events, IT governance resources, and several ways to stay connected with the community. While the IT Community website is not an intranet, it is meant to be a resource hub for IT staff across campus.
One newsletter, all your news
The days of struggling to remember where to find your news are over. Starting in September, the IT at Stanford monthly newsletter will be absorbed into the monthly UIT newsletter. Every month, you will receive one newsletter packed with all the UIT and IT Community news you need.
If you previously received the IT Community newsletter you will find a dedicated block containing news specific to professional IT staff. Faculty, students, and other staff will not see this block in their UIT newsletter.
Stay connected online
The new Stay Connected section of the website homepage highlights several ways to stay in the loop and connect with your fellow IT colleagues.
- Suggest a news article: Have IT related news that you want to share with the IT Community across campus? You can now suggest a news story for publishing on the IT Community website. Submit an idea or article draft and the UIT Communications team will help you find the best way to share your news.
- Join the IT at Stanford general Slack channel: Open to all members of the IT at Stanford workspace, this channel provides a forum for connection and collaboration about general IT topics. You will get real-time notifications of announcements and articles related to the community.
Feedback and suggestions
Make sure to check out the IT Community website and familiarize yourself with all the resources available. Find news, find ways to get involved, grow your career, and connect with IT colleagues.
Your input is helping shape the way UIT communicates with distributed IT, and vice-versa. If you have more feedback or suggestions about the IT Community website, fill out this form.
