Ep. 38 - Jill Whitaker: Keeping 100 Editors in Sync Running a University Website

In this episode of Edtech Connect, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Jill Whitaker, Director of Web Services at Southern Utah University, to explore the evolving landscape of higher ed website management.

With 25 years of experience, Jill shares candid insights on balancing short-term fixes with long-term strategy (inspired by her half-marathon coaching!), wrangling 100+ content editors, and championing accessibility through empathy-driven tactics.

Discover how SUU’s centralized approach keeps their site student-focused, why "Don’t Make Me Think" remains a timeless mantra, and what AI’s rise means for the future of university web teams.

Key Takeaways

1. The Marathon Mindset: Website governance mirrors distance running—balance immediate tasks with long-term vision to avoid burnout or shortsighted decisions.
2. Student-Centric Design: SUU’s homepage prioritizes recruitment/retention, with internal content redirected to portals—a battle-tested strategy.
3. Accessibility as Empathy: Tools like Siteimprove help, but real change comes from humanizing compliance (e.g., revealing colleagues who rely on screen readers).
4. Federated Governance: A Google Group for 100+ CMS users replaces formal committees, fostering peer support and accountability.
5. AI’s Double-Edged Sword: Excited for code debugging but wary of zero-click searches scraping outdated content.
6. Future-Proof Teams: Web teams of 2027 will blend marketing savvy with technical literacy—no more "coders in the dark."

 

Listen now for a masterclass in keeping university websites human-centered—no matter how tech evolves.

Find Jill Whitaker here:

LinkedIn                              

https://www.linkedin.com/in/jillow/

SSU

https://suu.edu/

 

Recommended Reading:

Don’t Make Me think – Steve Krug

https://www.amazon.com/Dont-Make-Me-Think-Usability/dp/0321344758

 

And find EdTech Connect here:

Web: https://edtechconnect.com/

 

Chapters

• (00:00:00) - EdTechConnect: How to Fix Pages with a High Bounce Rate
• (00:01:07) - Jill Whitaker
• (00:02:13) - Distance Running and Website Governance
• (00:07:46) - A Day in the Life of CSU's Content Design and Policy
• (00:08:53) - What's your Digital Governance on Campus?
• (00:11:00) - What Tactics Have Changed the Web?
• (00:14:01) - Site Improve: How to Manage a Site
• (00:15:24) - Cascade: The Cloud-based Content Management
• (00:17:07) - Bounce Rates and Search Terms in the Learning Industry
• (00:18:59) - How Universities are using AI in their search
• (00:22:39) - If Every Web Content Publisher Had A 1
• (00:23:55) - How to bring IT and Marketing together in the future
• (00:26:15) - Have we had any rogue sites on campus?
• (00:27:56) - Web Director on the Show
• (00:29:08) - EdTech Connect: Ending Explained