Working With the James Millikin Homestead

Senior Consultants Alex Pratt, Mikayla Krieger, and Ben Maynard present their research to The Millikin Homestead.

About the James Millikin Homestead

The James Millikin Homestead is the historic residence of James Millikin, founder of Millikin University, and his wife Ann Millikin. The Homestead, a not for profit organization, runs several events and tours of the residence in order to preserve the home and its legacy. Because the Homestead has an extensive amount of regular donors and members, Homestead board members reached out to MUPC to help them find a donor/member management software. 

The Research Presented

 MUPC’s Senior Consultants Alex Pratt, Mikayla Krieger, and Ben Maynard researched three different platforms in order to find the best fit for the Homestead’s needs. As they considered the specialized needs of a not for profit organization, each member conducted extensive research on each of the platforms, creating pro and con lists as well as using demos to further their research beyond just primary information. After completing their research, the consultants presented their findings to the Homestead at the pictured meeting. Each member thoroughly explained their platform and used demos of each as well as videos to help the Homestead understand the functions and drawbacks of each platform in reference to their specialized needs. The Homestead listened intently to the detailed research of the consultants and are currently in the process of narrowing down their preferences. They also shared some delicious cookies with our consultants at the presentation!

Related Projects

Outside of this research project, MUPC also maintains and updates the Millikin Homestead Website. This includes adding functionality to the site as well as updating information. The Millikin Homestead is just one of many clients that MUPC provides consulting to. Check back to see our future blog posts and stay updated on the work we are doing for our other clients!

The Homestead members engage with the MUPC consultants.

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Semester Wrap Up: What to Expect in the Spring

After a semester of new challenges and new successes, it’s time to wrap things up until the Spring! Last Thursday, the MUPC consultants gave their semester overview presentation to the Advisory Board. After receiving feedback from audience members, as well as taking the time to think about the Fall semester individually, it was time to begin planning for the Spring. MUPC consultants and Faculty Advisory, RJ Podeschi, spent the final class period evaluating what went well this semester and what can be improved in the Spring (as seen in the picture above). Here are three things you can expect for the Spring semester of MUPC:

1. More blog posts and #FTSF

Hopefully you have been keeping up with our blog posts for this semester (If not, you can read the other two below). We have found this is a great way to showcase what happens in this student-run venture. Next semester we plan to create even more blog posts that continue to highlight the unique things we are learning in class, as well as the different client projects we are working on. Along with more blog posts, we are bringing back…*drum roll  please*…#FindTheSquirrelFriday. For those of you who are unfamiliar with #FTSF, each Friday, we hide the MUPC squirrel in a picture and ask YOU to find it! Next semester we might even feature client locations… Stay tuned to find out!

2. New Clients

We’re expanding our services to incoporate a new website development platform- Joomla. This means more opportunities for new clients! We already have several client projects lined up for next semester and are eager to get started. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to see our clients featured on our blog posts and #FTSF posts. As always, if you or someone you know is looking for help with website development, database management, or a variety of other technical projects, just click on the “Contact” tab above and let us know what you’re looking for!

3. Six New Faces

We have recruited six new people to join our team next semester! Our new members include Isabella Voss, Sean Miller, Brandon Kane, Clarence Velasco, Anna Hooker, and Amanda Noser. With majors that range from Accounting to Information Security, each new member has an interest in exploring both the business and technical side of MUPC. We can’t wait to leverage all of their unique skills in order to continue improving this student-run venture!

Now, that’s only three things that you have to look forward to in the Spring, but there will surely be more to come! Check back at the beginning of February for our first #FTSF post of 2020, as well as a new blog post. In the mean time, have a happy and safe holiday season!

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“A Few Snippets of Code Can Make All the Difference”

Tom Emola presenting on the topic of Website Accessibility to MUPC Consultants
Tom Emola, MUPC and Millikin Alum, presenting on the topic of Website Accessibility to MUPC Consultants.

What is Website Accessibility?

When you think of “accessibility” the first thing that comes to mind might be wheelchair ramps or screen readers, but have you ever thought of website accessibility? Accessibility Coach, Tom Emola, explained how properly coded websites allow all users to navigate and experience a website to the fullest extent. This means making sure that at all types of digital content including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, PDFs, eBooks, & multimedia content, are accessible on your website. What many people are unaware of is how many different disabilities website accessibility affects. The disabilities impacted by this include cognitive disabilities, voice disabilities, hearing disabilities, seeing disabilities, motor impairments, or a combination of these disabilities. For example, an individual who is color blind may not be able to see the text on a page due to the color contrasts, or an individual who is blind may not be able to receive the same experience from a picture because there is no alternate text. Simple elements of a website that many people are able to enjoy without the use of special features, others are not. 

Why is this important?

Right now, Website Accessibility is something that is often overlooked by companies, and this mistake can lead to big problems. Emola shared that currently, 70% of websites are not accessible, but about 25% of adults in America have a disability. Website Accessibility falls under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), under Title III where it states that “Services to the general public cannot exclude people who happen to have disabilities”. Because many individuals overlook this, there were 2,258 lawsuits filed for website accessibility alone in 2018, which is up from 814 in 2017. Furthermore, if a website is inaccessible, it can result in the loss of $645 billion in revenue annually. 

What can I do?

Throughout the presentation, Emola emphasized that “a few snippets of code can make all the difference”. This issue may seem daunting, but with the right knowledge and tools, it’s an easy fix, and one that could save you and your business a lot of money. A good first step is to become familiar with the World Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), as well as the Web Accessibility Initiative.You can also try it for yourself! See if your own website, or some of your favorite sites to visit, are accessible. You can do this by unplugging your mouse and navigating to a page using only tab/shift+tab or arrow keys. This simulates how someone who could not use a mouse would navigate a page. You can also download a screen reader to gain a better understanding of what it’s like to use one. The time for website accessibility is now, because once it becomes a legal requirement, all websites will be required to be accessible. Take it upon yourself to stay educated and put yourself in the shoes of someone with a disability who may be accessing your website. 

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