Improved CQUniversity Web Search

As a method of improving how students and staff find information on the CQUniversity website, the Information Technology Directorate (ITD) has undertaken an evaluation of a new online search tool called the Google Search Appliance (GSA).

The GSA provides benefits over the existing Google Search box that is currently being used on some of the University’s web pages. For example, the GSA provides:

• Detailed reporting on search queries and results.
• Ability to customise search results to meet the needs of the University.
• Integration with site security, so students and staff will see search results based on what content they can access.  

As part of the evaluation, various aspects were considered including performance, search response relevancy, management features and useability.

Feedback from the evaluation was positive and staff reported that the GSA eliminated issues where they previously found it difficult to find what they were looking for on the CQUniversity website. 

After recent approval from the Web Project Board, the acquisition and integration of the GSA into CQUniversity’s web presence has commenced. 

To try using this new online search tool, the GSA is available on the CQUniversity Staff homepage.

ITD intends to make the GSA available on more web pages and also introduce a new search facility on CQUniversity homepage.

For more information about the introduction of the GSA, please contact the ITD Service Centre.