Abstract
This paper presents a framework for the upgrade of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) websites. The objectives of the research are to examine important factors for Higher Education Institutions (HEI) websites upgrade and develop a framework and guidelines for the upgrade of websites of these institutions. The framework is anchored on the requirement of any upgrade to guarantee continuity in two important roles of a HEI website, namely; the continuity of the institutional image, and the continuity of online service delivery to stakeholders. The research adopted the Design Science Research (DSR) approach which is a problem-solving paradigm and considers research as capable of bringing change through introduction of novel artefacts that address societal challenges. DSR is characterised by two major iterative cycles of build and evaluate activities that are executed until a sufficient artefact is realised. The framework was developed during the conclusion phase of the research. The Framework is named TUCO, representing the initials of the framework lenses of Technical, Usability, Content and Other factors. The lenses are connected by a hinge that holds together all the lenses and represents the flexibility of the framework which allows for an upgrade to be done by looking through at one lens or a combination of different lenses depending on the priorities of the upgrade and the resources available. Each lens has a number of components that must be considered during an upgrade. The framework contributes to the HEI websites body of knowledge and provides support and practical guideline for practitioners.
Highlights
The web phenomenon has changed how people work and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are no exception
This paper presents a framework for the upgrade of Higher Education Institutions (HEI) websites
Websites have become a strategic tool in HEIs and it is safe to say that all universities worldwide have websites
Summary
The web phenomenon has changed how people work and Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) are no exception. A random check using who is net indicated that University of Oxford in the United Kingdom,oxford.ac.uk, was registered on or before 1996; Harvard University in the USA, harvard.edu was registered in 1986; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the USA, mit.edu, was registered in1986; University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom, cam.ac.uk, was registered on or before 1996; Makerere University in Uganda, mak.ac.ug, was registered in 2001; University of Ibadan in Nigeria, ui.edu.ng, was registered in 2009; and the University of Nairobi in Kenya which is the case used in this research was registered in 2003 This indicates that majority of the institutions have had their website for over 20 years and the websites must have undergone some upgrade(s) at some stage. These technological advances combined with the mainstreaming of websites as a strategic tool for stakeholders engagement make upgrade of institutional website an exercise that must be undertaken with multiple considerations
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