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School of Public Health & Community Medicine

Integrated WEB-DATABASE Project

The goal of this unit-specific UIF project is to develop an integrated information resource for the School of Public Health and Community Medicine that will link the SPHCM Web Site, SPHCM databases, and University of Washington data warehouse (the "USER" Project) data.

Three current developments have motivated this project. First, there is a growing use of—and reliance on—the "Web" by students, faculty, staff, professional colleagues and, especially, prospective applicants. The Web is becoming an increasingly important place to learn about the school, to carry out administrative and scholarly tasks, and to access information generally. Second, database computer technology has become both more powerful and more user friendly. Third, the University has developed an extensive data warehouse (USER Project) that can provide detailed data to plan and monitor virtually all aspects of our academic mission.

UIF resources will allow us to enhance our Web presence:

To be an attractive and informative gateway for potential applicants to learn about the programs and educational opportunities within the School of Public Health, and to help them apply;
To serve as a platform for developing and conducting Web-based distance learning courses and programs;
To be an efficient and powerful internet/intranet portal for our students, staff, and faculty;
To be an information resource for the public health workforce in the Northwest;
To provide an easy-to-use gateway for both professional colleagues and the public to learn about the faculty, educational programs, research, and service activities of the school; and
To help alumni and friends of the School keep up with the news and events at the School and to provide a mechanism for alumni to share information about themselves and classmates.

In addition, UIF funding will be used to develop an integrated, multi-user (relational) database, utilizing (and enhancing) USER Project data files on faculty, students, courses, research, community service, publications, alumni, finances, and space allocation information. The School of Public Health and Community Medicine Integrated Web-Database will:

Track SPHCM strategic and mission-specific goals and objectives;
Provide departments and programs with both longitudinal and current data for planning, management, monitoring, and evaluation activities;
Assure a secure system for data access by departmental faculty/staff in the School; and
Store comprehensive, Web-linked data on faculty, professional expertise in the School, courses, syllabi, grants, publications, etc.

Contact:	Frederick A. Connell, MD, MPH Associate Dean, Academic Affairs fredc@u.washington.edu
Allocation:	$31,250
Date Funded:	July 2000