Websites

In the interest of keeping your department site lean and current, please link to the relevant Degree page in the main UNCG site (under UNCG Degrees & Programs) rather than creating full pages for your degrees within the department site, whenever possible.

• Most CAS department sites now have an Academic Programs page (find yours at https://[dept].uncg.edu/academics)
  • Each degree has its own section with basic information, and then links out to the relevant degree and catalog pages.
  • You can add sections or buttons for concentrations, and link to their relevant pages as well. (Concentrations get their own pages under UNCG Degrees & Programs, but all share the same catalog page under their main degree)
• The Degree pages can be built out and customized to feature the info you want to promote in this centralized location, including accordions, videos, tabs, tables, timelines, and other design blocks.

Each department can designate one Degree Manager who has editing access. Contact me for assistance with this.

Please link to the relevant page in the Catalog when sharing degree requirements or listing relevant courses. This prevents oudated information from being displayed on your site.

While the CAS webmaster cannot directly assist with catalog changes, I can share information about contacts and processes.

In a nutshell:

• The catalog is managed through the University Registrar’s Office.
• All faculty have access to submit curriculum changes.
• Each department has a designated user who can make content changes.
  • By default, the department head or office director is given access.
  • Unit head can send an email to URO designating any users that they need to add.

The Process

From Tim Cripe, URO Academic Infrastructure Analyst:

Narrative Content

This is typically the department overview area. Narrative content in the University Catalog is edited via an annual update cycle. Each department has a designated Catalog user with editing privileges for their department’s content. [CAS does not have a record of these users, so check within your department for that contact.]

The annual editing window for this content opens on March 1 and closes on April 15. The user receives email notifications about training opportunities and deadlines. 

Curricular Content

Curricular changes, such as the title of a degree or minor, must be submitted through the CIM system. All faculty have access to submit curriculum changes.

More information about CIM is posted in the CourseLeaf portal for UNCG.

Faculty Lists

The information on the Faculty page is dynamically generated from Banner, so it can be manipulated only by changing information in Banner. 

Communicate changes regarding listing or not listing an instructor to the person in your department who handles faculty personnel records; they should use established processes to notify Faculty Personnel Services in the Office of the Provost. 

• The name displayed can be modified by the individual in UNCGenie:
  • Click on Personal Information > Click on Update Faculty/Employee Directory Information. 

Dependent upon the time of year, the update may not be visible in the Live Catalog for the current academic term; however, it will be visible in the Draft Catalog for the next academic year (https://nextcatalog.uncg.edu) after the data is refreshed. 

2025-2026 Dates

The 2025-26 University Catalog draft opens for non-curricular edits on Monday, March 3 and will remain open until Friday, April 14. During this period, you should review and update the overview sections on your unit, department, and/or program pages.

Curricular vs. Non-Curricular Content

Edits to curricular content (courses and programs) must be proposed through the CIM module. Deadlines for that process can be accessed here: https://assessment.uncg.edu/office-of-assessment-accreditation-and-academic-program-planning/curriculum-committees.

When viewing the Catalog draft, please remember that the 2024–25 curriculum committee process is ongoing and modifications are currently in progress. Content is subject to change until August 1, 2025.

Non-curricular content is primarily a unit’s or department’s overview information and is updated during the March 3-April 14 period referenced in this message. These edits are submitted using the CourseLeaf CAT module: https://nextcatalog.uncg.edu/index.html?homepage=true. Regardless of whether edits are necessary, please submit your unit or department page into CAT workflow. This will assist us in ensuring that every page in the catalog has been reviewed.

          [Remember that curriculum content is still in progress per the above.]

Note: The draft is also referred to as Nextcatalog within the CourseLeaf software.

Visit the Curriculum Guide website

This information was last updated June 18, 2025.

• Each department can have one designated Degree Manager
  • If your department does not have a Degree Manager yet, contact me to get started.
• Are you trying to edit a Degree page on behalf of your department?
  • Click here to log in: https://www.uncg.edu/wp-admin
  • If you have been authorized as a Degree Manager, that link will let you in via Single Sign-On (SSO), as long as you are already logged in to UNCG on your browser.
  • Save that link! It gets you into the main UNCG website, which houses the Degree and Directory pages.
  • NOTE: This is separate from your department website, and you must log in to each one separately.

We now point to UNCG Directory pages instead of department-housed website pages.

Missing your previous site’s faculty profile pages/sections? We can re-create those in the Directory pages now. They can be customized with design blocks just like other webpages.  We can also add buttons linking to third-party websites as needed.

Empty profiles? Complete these forms and share with your department, as necessary:

• Faculty Member Directory Form
• Staff Member Directory Form

• Each department can have one designated Directory Manager
  • If your department does not have a Directory Manager yet, contact me to get started.
• Are you trying to edit a Directory page on behalf of your department?
  • Click here to log in: https://www.uncg.edu/wp-admin
  • If you have been authorized as a Directory Manager, that link will let you in via Single Sign-On (SSO), as long as you are already logged in to UNCG on your browser.
  • Save that link! It gets you into the main UNCG website, which houses the Degree and Directory pages.
  • NOTE: This is separate from your department website, and you must log in to each one separately.

Use your department’s SharePoint drive for faculty documents, rather than storing them in the WordPress media library. Just make each directory/folder accessible to the correct audience (likely UNCG-only, possibly “anyone with the link”), and we can add the directory’s link to your site wherever it makes the most sense.

This keeps your site faster (since it’s smaller), more organized, and the process of updating documents is streamlined. Just link to the directory holding the documents in SharePoint and when new or updated documents need to be shared, you can bypass WordPress altogether.

Alternately, I can set up a shared department folder for you (which will be located in CAS Dean’s Office SharePoint directory entitled “Public Docs for Website” > [your department]). Let me know!

Please do not use OneDrive for this purpose, since OneDrive directories are tied to individuals, complicating document management when OneDrive owners leave UNCG or move to a different unit.

Use a SharePoint directory or Canvas to share documents with students, rather than uploading documents to the WordPress media library. See the section above (faculty documents) for more info.

Again, please do not use OneDrive for this purpose since OneDrive directories are tied to individuals.

While accessibility as a legal matter is tied to disability, true accessibility can benefit everyone.

Please read: Why Accessibility is Important – Accessibility Resources at UNCG

You will notice accessibility considerations in my tutorials, so be sure to follow closely with the simple but powerful steps we must take to make our websites accessible to all users.

The NGWP sites are highly accessible by design. However, there are some small items that all web editors are responsible for. Most commonly, you will be asked to include alt text with any images you upload or use within your site.

• Read more on this page: Getting Started with Accessibility.
• You can jump straight to the section about alt text here.

I can add new users to the NGWP websites with the “editor” role. This allows for general page edits, and is often sufficient for common editing needs.

For more comprehensive editing capabilities, elevation to the “site admin” role is sometimes needed. Elevation to the Site Admin role requires completion of (or exemption from*) Digital Accessibility Training before the system allows your elevated privileges to kick in.

This is all managed via ITS and the Web Accessibility Coordinator, so I can only play a middling role. Please allow for a transitional delay (possibly several days) before your account elevation goes into effect.

_{*You may be able to gain an exemption from the ADA Web Accessibility training requirement if you have already completed a similar training due to your instructional role. Read about that here.}

Images with text, such as event flyers, are problematic for web accessibility.

For example: this image makes a great printed poster, but screen readers can’t make it accessible to people with visual disabilities.

• Whenever possible, images of text should be avoided. Currently, no screen reader can read text in images.
• Color contrast checkers cannot automatically check for compliance when putting text inside an image.  
• Additionally, images of text do not resize well and will look degraded when using zoom functions or on mobile devices, which can make reading even more difficult.  
• Logos are an acceptable exception. 
• Note that QR codes are not useful within webpages. Links serve the purpose when you’re already on a website.

What To Do About It

The event poster makes our event page look great, even though it’s full of text. We can find a balance in this scenario by adding short, to-the-point alt-text (“Poster for the Welcome Arcade event on January 15, 2025 in the UNCG eSports Arena”) – which shares the most important information that can be gained from reading the graphic’s text – but we also include the full text in the webpage so that screen reader users don’t miss any of the information.

The University Communications Canto Library is a source for high quality photography to be used in UNC Greensboro publications and communications (print, screen, and web). The Canto Library is open to faculty and staff, and requires login using your university credentials.

UNCG Web Assets contains information about the different design blocks, themes, and reusable patterns available in NGWP websites. See color schemes, fonts, and more resources.

Visit the University Communications site for information about the Web Content Audit Procedure.

The University Brand Guide – University Communications

Get step-by-step instructions on completing common web editing tasks. (Under development)

Visit the Tutorials page