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Information Architecture

Audience Priorities

The university website exists first and foremost to serve prospective students and their supporters during the application and enrollment decision-making process. This is the primary audience, and the information architecture is built around their needs.

The secondary focus of the site is on university supporter engagement and public outreach. All other audience needs are accommodated within the site structure outlined below.

Content intended for current students, faculty, and staff should be moved to the SHSU intranet unless required to be public. If content is required to be public, it must be on the public-facing website (managed in Cascade). The SHSU intranet will be moved behind SSO.

The university cannot serve all audiences equally within a single information hierarchy. Authorized content contributors are expected to understand and uphold the commitment to the primary audience when making decisions about content placement, labeling, and structure.

Site Sections

The content of the shsu.edu website is divided into defined sections based on the audience each section primarily serves. Content must be placed within the section appropriate to its primary audience.

Potential and Prospective Student Decision-Making
(Marketing Pages)

This section is the primary section of the website. It contains:

  • University-wide content applicable to most or all prospective students
  • Content specifically important to prospective student decision-making
  • Content structured by subject matter, not by university organizational unit

SHSU Alumni

This section contains content created for and directed at the SHSU alumni community.

HR Hiring

This section contains content targeting prospective faculty and staff. It is organized according to the decision-making needs of that audience, not by the internal structure of Human Resources or hiring departments.

Public-facing Department and Division

This section supports organizational units in creating a public-facing presence on the web and contains:

  • Content unique to a department or division that assists prospective students
  • Regulatory, institutional transparency, and public outreach or service content
  • Contextual content directing internal audiences to the SHSU Intranet

Content Placement

All area web pages must adhere to the audience-based content division described above. The following requirements apply to all authorized content contributors:

  • Hierarchy Compliance. Content must live within the hierarchy of the appropriate site section. Content may not be published outside its designated section hierarchy.
  • No Content Duplication. Content must not be duplicated across sections or pages. Where content is relevant to multiple sections or pages, it must exist in one canonical location and be linked to from other locations
  • Linking Over Duplication. When a department, college, or administrative unit needs to reference content owned by another area or section of the site, a link to that content is required. Creating a local copy of that content is not permitted. Where applicable, enough similar content can be created near the link to provide context for the link.

Navigation 

Navigation is a required element of the information architecture and is not optional for interior pages.

  • Side Navigation. All interior pages are required to display side navigation. This requirement exists to create a viable mental map for site visitors and to support content discoverability.
  • Minimum Link Requirement. Side navigation must include at least one link to related information. Pages that provide no contextual navigation links do not meet the minimum standard and must be updated.
  • Navigation as Wayfinding. Navigation must reflect the content hierarchy of the section in which a page lives. Navigation structures that contradict or obscure the intended section hierarchy are not compliant with this policy.

Oversight

  • IMC has final authority over information architecture decisions for all content under the shsu.edu domain. Requests for exceptions to content placement, hierarchy, or navigation requirements must be submitted to and approved by IMC prior to publication.
  • Content that does not conform to this policy is subject to correction or removal by IMC or the authorized administrator for the relevant section

Key Takeaways

  • The site is built around prospective students. The information architecture prioritizes enrollment decision-making. All other audience needs are accommodated within that framework.
  • Where content lives is a policy decision. Pages must be placed within the section that matches their primary audience. Content placement based on departmental convenience rather than user need is not compliant.
  • Link, don't duplicate. Content exists in one place and is linked to from others. Republishing content that already exists elsewhere on the site is not permitted

Related Guidance

Updated 6/15/26