And the (Search) Survey said…

User feedback leads to acquisition of a new search replacement

In March, we asked members of the UTMB community to share their opinions and preferences related to web search in a brief survey. The request was initiated by Google’s decision to end support for the two products UTMB has long used for internal and public search of its online presence.

The survey ran for approximately three days and garnered more than 300 responses. The results are below and made clear that search is important to UTMB. The comments were insightful and further amplified the role search plays in the workflow of many members of our workforce.

In response to the feedback and to best support the needs of our students, staff and visitors, a decision has been made to acquire a search tool replacement with functionality similar (and with some enhancements) to what has been available. The work will be led and funded by Information Services with support from Marketing and Communications.

We want to thank those who contributed their time and experience as part of our evaluation. The tool is being acquired now and once on site, will require installation and configuration. There may be some changes to Google-based search results in the interim, but we’ll work to minimize any disruptions and keep the campus informed about our progress.