Interactive Campus Map

Submission Information:

1. Name of practice:
   • Interactive Campus Map
2. Institution name:
   • The University of Montana, Web Technology Services
3. Description of the practice:
   • Because prospective students of the The University of Montana (UM) and their parents are finding it increasingly difficult to visit the campus and current students and employees require intuitive ways to access university resources, UM replaced a static pdf map with an interactive, geo-referenced campus map. Offering visual panoramas for prospective students and a spatial interface to campus which integrates location, pictures, description, URL and phone number for buildings, departments, and other resources for constituents on campus is enhancing both the recruiting and retention processes.  Since data collection and maintenance are one of the most expensive components of any system, a secure, web based admin tool was created to decentralize data entry and updates. 
4. Evaluation Criteria Responses:
   • Innovation:
     • The University of Montana's interactive campus map sets the bar for innovative, interactive web maps. Not only does it provide the university with a vehicle to exhibit the campus and attract prospective students with photos and virtual tours, but the open-source framework allows it to be easily expanded with other campus datasets.  Integration with student schedules, faculty/staff directories, and building accessibility features are just a few of the ways it can be expanded.  With these resources attached to the map, it becomes more than a graphical representation of campus-it becomes an intuitive tool to locate and access campus resources in a spatial context. 
   • Benefits:
     • The Interactive Campus Map significantly improves the ability of staff, students and visitors to explore the UM campus helping them find resources they need on campus through an intuitive, searchable web interface.  The maintenance of the data is distributed to the departments that own the data ensuring its accuracy and timely update.

       The base map provides the basis for easy construction of event or department-specific maps which improves the dissemination of information. For example, a student orientation map could assist newcomers to find their advisors, labs, places to meet and park.

       Additional analytical tools help the developers understand what constituents are searching for, giving them the ability to tag spatial objects to provide a more successful search experience.

   • Replicability:
     • The application is open source based, uses Openlayers, Mapnik, Tilecache and the Postgres database.  The technology is replicable by any organization with some knowledge of Javascript, open source technologies and GIS.
   • Costs:
     • With the exception of a GIS for spatial layer construction, the components are all open source so software costs are minimal. About 6 months FTE were utilized to develop the interactive map.
5. Links to related information:
   • Interactive Campus Map
   • Presentation
6. Principal Contact:
   • Loey Knapp, Assistant Chief Information Officer, 406-243-6309
7. Other Contact:
   • Nick Shontz, Systems Analyst, 406-243-6378
   • Jamie Robertson, GIS Specialist/Web Developer, 406-243-6372