Website & Digital Resources
The five primary College websites are enormous in both scale and importance for our institution, acting as centralized resources for prospective students, current students, faculty, event patrons, alumni, donors, and more. Additionally, higher education in the 21st century requires extensive use of data collection and storage solutions.
This page provides an overview of our website management process and how to approach different digital needs and requests.
Please note that the websites not only serve many stakeholders, but are also subject to university rules and accessibility regulations. While we make every effort to accommodate reasonable requests, there may be university-related, technical, or legal reasons as to why we cannot implement a particular request.
Expand each section below to learn more about a specific topic.
About Our CMS
LSU's Content Management System (CMS) is provided by Modern Campus, a cloud-based Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform. Access to manage and work within the LSU CMS is restricted to select staff and administrators who have undergone the necessary training to use it.
In the College of Music & Dramatic Arts, the CMS supports five distinct websites:
- College of Music & Dramatic Arts - lsu.edu/cmda
- School of Music - lsu.edu/cmda/music
- School of Theatre - lsu.edu/cmda/theatre
- Department of Bands - lsu.edu/cmda/bands
- Swine Palace - lsu.edu/cmda/swinepalace
The CMDA Marketing Office is responsible for updates, development, access management, and accessibility compliance of these five websites.
Requesting Basic Updates
Basic updates to existing webpages or content, such as a revised faculty biography, modified audition requirements, etc. can be submitted at any time using the Website Update Request Form. These updates are are addressed in the order they are received; usually they will be processed within 1-3 business days of form submission.
SUBMIT WEBSITE UPDATE REQUEST FORM
Requesting Large Development Projects
For large requests which will require new construction, such as building out a new area of the website or undertaking significant layout revisions, it is best to contact staff directly to establish a more thorough understanding of the scope and purpose of the project. You may still be asked to fill out the Website Update Request Form to help document the request and provide materials.
Projects may be referred to other staff and administrators for review depending on the scope and purpose of the project. Staff and administrators reserve the right to modify the project scope or decline to implement the project if it does not align with institutional goals. The larger the scope, the more likely a project will need to wait for a period of downtime such as the winter holiday or the summer semester.
LSU provides several options for the collection and storage of data related to university activities.
Forms Options at LSU
There are three primary form systems at LSU: Formstack, Microsoft Forms and Qualtrics. By law and university policy, data collection for any university activity must occur using these systems procured under master contracts.
Formstack is a cloud-based commercial forms software which integrates into the Modern Campus CMS and the myLSU single sign-on (SSO) system.
- Formstack forms are generally reserved for broader institutional needs, such as large-scale data collection, recruiting efforts, or event registrations.
- Access to Formstack is restricted to specific staff and administrators who are trained
in its use. If you believe you need a Formstack form created, contact the appropriate CMDA staff to get started.
Microsoft Forms is a basic forms software included as part of the Microsoft Office Suite for most LSU employees.
- This system is intended for internal or small-scale needs, such as quick sign-ups for office hours or lesson times.
- Access to Microsoft Forms is managed through your myLSU account. Visit forms.microsoft.com and sign in with your myLSU credentials.
- Graduate students and paid undergraduate workers do NOT have access to Microsoft Forms.
- Do NOT use a Microsoft Form to collect any information related to prospective students.
This use case should be handled by Formstack with staff and administrator involvement.
Qualtrics is a highly advanced forms software designed for research studies and surveys where complex conditional logic and detailed data logging is needed.
- We do not recommend using Qualtrics outside a research environment, given its complexity. Staff support for Qualtrics is limited.
- Access to Qualtrics is managed through your myLSU account. Visit lsu.qualtrics.com and sign in as an "LSU Baton Rouge A&M" user with your myLSU credentials.
- Oversight by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) may apply, depending on how you intend to deploy Qualtrics.
Data Storage Options at LSU
There are two primary data storage systems at LSU: Box and Microsoft OneDrive. By law and university policy, data uploaded to these services is retained for several years. Do not upload personal data unrelated to your work at LSU (e.g. personal files, tax returns, family photos) to any university-managed storage service. Access to data is generally lost upon leaving LSU.
Box is a cloud-based commercial data storage software which is integrated into the myLSU single sign-on (SSO) system. Box is the preferred storage method for ongoing university activities.
- All faculty, staff, and student employees (graduate assistants and paid undergraduate workers) have access to Box.
- Each Box user has several terabytes (TB) of storage.
- Access to Box is managed through your myLSU account. Visit box.lsu.edu and sign in with your myLSU credentials.
Microsoft OneDrive is part of the Microsoft Office Suite provided to all LSU users.
- All faculty, staff, and students have access to OneDrive.
- Each OneDrive user has a limited storage capacity which varies depending on role/classification.
- Access to OneDrive is managed through your myLSU account. Visit onedrive.live.com and sign in with your myLSU credentials.
Data Privacy
LSU is committed to maintaining the privacy and security of any collected confidential or highly sensitive personal information. The privacy policy has been adopted to address the collection, use, and dissemination of personal information by LSU. To learn more, please review the full LSU Privacy Statement at the link below.
About Faculty Sites
LSU offers a dedicated home for small-scale faculty webpages, located at faculty.lsu.edu. These "microsites" are intended for small studios, research labs, or individual faculty wishing to showcase their work to a greater depth than possible on a typical biography page.
Faculty sites are the sole responsibility of the faculty member to build and maintain. Basic training from the LSU Web Team / ITS is required before you will be given access to manage your site.
The statements and opinions included on faculty.lsu.edu are those of respective faculty and researchers only. Any statements and opinions included in these webpages are not those of Louisiana State University or the LSU Board of Supervisors.
Access to your faculty site and related data is lost upon leaving LSU.
Steps To Request
To request the creation of a faculty site, submit the Website Update Request Form and provide the necessary information. College staff will process your request in coordination with LSU ITS.
Once the site is created, College staff will provide you with the URL, and you will then need to sign up to attend the Faculty Site Omni CMS Training at the link below. After training, College staff involvement is completed and the site becomes the sole responsibility of the faculty member to manage.