A听new section听launched on Dalhousie鈥檚 website last week听promises听to make听it easier for students to听access the听university鈥檚听robust听collection听of听services and supports.听
Life at Dal, formerly known as Campus Life,听connects users to information on campus life, student support, and the services that shape the Dal experience听in a more streamlined, user-friendly way. It improves navigation while significantly reducing duplication and outdated pages.听听
A听more integrated and organized听design听driven by user needs rather than internal听university听structures听means听students听can now more easily understand what Dal offers beyond the classroom and how to access supports when they need them.听
"It's not the same听section听redesigned.听It's听a whole new听hub听based on intuitive user behaviour,鈥� says Erica Zwicker,听director of communications with Student Affairs.听
Current students will听benefit听from听a more modern,听mobile-responsive听interface听where they can find answers to听common questions听about student life grouped听logically by theme and topic听rather than operational units.听
Meanwhile,听future students will听be听able to听more easily browse听through enhanced听content highlighting Dalhousie鈥檚听options听for housing, dining,听student support,听and more.听
Quality over quantity
The Life at Dal project was a collaborative effort involving site owners and content authors from听Student Affairs听and听Housing & Campus Connections, working closely with听the听Dal.ca Web Services听team. The latter composed of听members of听the听Student Recruitment and Marketing鈥�(SRM)鈥疍igital鈥疢arketing Platforms听team听and听Information Technology听Services鈥櫶齏eb Team.听听
Together, the teams reduced the total number of pages in the section by听80 per cent听and minimized the听use of documents and downloadable content, resulting in more concise content听and greater听web accessibility.听
Life at Dal also provides clear pathways for students to access听useful听myDal听intranet sites such as听听(濒辞驳颈苍听谤别辩耻颈谤别诲)听and听the brand new听听(濒辞驳颈苍听谤别辩耻颈谤别诲).听These听sites offer more detailed,听internally听relevant听information about specific aspects of the student experience听for current students, while Life at Dal hosts materials that are more broadly relevant to both current and prospective students.听
The launch of Life at Dal also created an opportunity to better support the student journey by听consolidating听academic听content听previously听found听under Campus Life听鈥斕齭uch as听degree planning,听grades, and听student records听鈥斕齱ithin the听厂迟耻诲测听蝉别肠迟颈辞苍 of the website, which听has a more academic focus.听
鈥淭hese changes were made to better support the journey for prospective and current students by bringing degree planning and degree management resources together in one place,鈥� says Trudi Smith, web content specialist at Dal.
As with other recent dal.ca launches, Life at Dal reflects a shared commitment to improving clarity, accessibility, and user experience for everyone who relies on Dal鈥檚 website.