The official Ashland University website, ashland.edu, received a recent update and redesign.

However, the redesign launch went live with a disclaimer detailing that the website was relatively unfinished, as the new website is “still in the process of migrating content.”

AU students, faculty and staff had many questions concerning the redesign and the drop-down menu featuring the disclaimer.

According to AU President Dr. Carlos Campo, the website redesign has “been in the works for quite some time.”

“We were hoping to launch [the website] over the summer, but there were some labor issues that delayed the start until now,” Campo added.

During the Student Senate meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 18, student senators expressed that although the website looks “aesthetically pleasing,” the various issues presented at launch make it difficult to navigate, especially with a few incomplete pages and broken links.

Since the redesign has gone live, various departments have found minor issues with the new layout.

With spring registration approaching, students have been unable to access the registrar’s page on the site or set up a greenlighting meeting with their advisors.

“I couldn’t even access the catalog to check required classes on my degree plan since it has changed from when we learned how to in Freshman Success Seminars,” freshman Joe Monteith said.

Similarly, Safety Services Director Dave McLaughlin explained that it has now become difficult for students to sign up for parking permits and other services pertaining to Safety Services with the broken pages.

Dr. Robert Pool, current advisor of Student Senate, explained Marketing and Communications is “working feverishly to adjust the various issues on the new website.”

The redesign proposal was presented at student and faculty senate meetings last semester in order to garner feedback from students and faculty alike.

Senior Lauren Vladyka, who worked as an Intern for Marketing and Communications during the 2022 summer, said that the “struggle” to get content stemmed partially from miscommunication on curriculum from various departments.

“We were waiting on communication for updating various pages,” Vladyka added. “We weren’t sure what needed to stay and what needed to be removed, even from the current pages. I was pulling stuff from the current website. It was very much a struggle and the biggest holdup as far as academic program information goes.”

According to Keith Ramsdell, vice president for Enrollment Management and Marketing, the redesign effort was led by Karen Martin, director of Marketing and Communications.

Ramsdell added that Marketing also worked with an external encryption team called Image-X. The Microsoft Gold Certified Partner provides “innovative solutions and technological advancement in software customization.”

This is a developing story.