Benefits

Many departments put frequently asked questions (FAQs) on their web sites, usually as a simple HTML page maintained with a program such as Dreamweaver. With this system, the FAQs are:

1. Not easily searchable.

2. Not available anywhere other than the department's web site.

The University FAQ System, a central database of FAQs, solves both these problems by providing these benefits:

1. The database is searchable, so users can search a department's FAQs by keywords.

2. Departments can organize their FAQs into topics and subtopics. For example, the Office of Admissions might create topics for Undergraduate, Graduate, and International. And while FAQs are part of a central system, departments still maintain full control over the content and presentation of their own FAQs.

3. Departments can conveniently maintain their FAQs through the FAQ Admin System and Contributor Form, a web-based management system. Updates a department makes to its FAQs are immediately available on the Web.

4. Departmental FAQs will automatically be part of the University FAQ Search page as well as the department's own FAQ Search page, which can have the design of the department's existing web site, such as the WebCentral FAQ Search page.