Northern Arizona University’s web ecosystem includes several connected platforms, each serving a different purpose. This overview is meant to help Academic Affairs faculty and staff understand where content lives, who manages it, and how to request updates or share feedback.
Academic content on nau.edu
Academic content on nau.edu includes high-level information about colleges and departments, accreditation, program areas of interest, and online degree programs (undergraduate, graduate, online, minors). Its primary goal is to attract and engage prospective students. This site is managed by Strategic Enrollment and Marketing (SEM).
Academic Affairs Marketing (AAM) had served as the post-nau.edu launch intermediary between the Academic Affairs division and SEM; this is no longer the case. Feedback regarding nau.edu content should be submitted directly to SEM via their web support form
Content on degree-search.nau.edu
The Degree Search site includes program-level information and descriptions of each Area of Interest. Its purpose is to provide accurate and engaging program-specific content that helps prospective (and current) students explore NAU programs and find options that align with their interests and career goals. This site is now being managed by AAM.
AAM is currently leading a phased project to refresh program content, update the Areas of interest, and improve the user experience, based on recommendations from the Degree Search Task Force spring 2026 recommendations. This work will roll out in phases:
- User interface updates and PhD program pages
- Graduate program pages
- Undergraduate program pages
Our goal is to refresh all ~400 program pages by Fall 2027.
For now, if you have urgent feedback on “About this program” content, please submit a request through the AAM form (select Web Support).
Academic content on legacy.nau.edu
The legacy platform was created as a temporary holding space for nau.edu pages that would not be included on the new nau.edu site. The original plan was for units to review and streamline their web content before migrating it to IN. AAM initiated site audits with several departments in Summer 2025, however the volume of content, platform instability, and lack of search visibility made it difficult to continue, and the audit/optimization process was paused until after all AA sites had been migrated.
To move things forward, AAM partnered with ITS to rapidly migrate most Academic Affairs content to IN. About 95% of sites have now been moved. The remaining sites will be migrated before the legacy platform is retired at the end of FY26.
AA division content on in.nau.edu
The IN platform was originally designed for internal content, with some areas restricted through CAS (Central Authentication Service). Early on, migrations to IN were expected to apply CAS protection by default.
In practice, most Academic Affairs content is intended for both internal and external audiences, so broad CAS protection was not widely applied. As a result, many IN sites are publicly accessible.
There have also been changes to how IN content appears in search. Some of the earliest sites migrated to IN were not indexed by Google or other search engines. That has since changed, and Academic Affairs content on IN is now becoming more discoverable through search results.
IN is continuing to evolve into a space for more detailed, specialized content that supports current students, prospective students, employees, and external audiences—complementing what’s already on nau.edu, Degree Search, and the catalog.
In Fall 2026, AAM will reinitiate the process of refining and improving IN content in partnership with units and site owners. More details will be shared in an upcoming newsletter.
In the meantime, please submit content updates to your unit’s site steward. If your unit doesn’t have a site steward—or if your request is broader—submit a request through the AAM form (select Web Support).
P.S. – For site stewards
If you’re a current site steward—or support one—consider joining or reconnecting with the Site Steward Channel in Teams. AAM is re-envisioning the site steward program in collaboration with our internal partners. We will be updating the Teams channel to function as a central hub for information sharing and community building among stewards. Hope to see you there! (Please pardon our “dust” while we renovate this summer.)
If you are a future site steward that needs WordPress publishing access, please submit a request via our request form for assistance navigating this process.