What is PAWS?

PAWS (or the Platform for Academic Websites) will be a scalable, cost-effective content management system specifically designed for UCSF academic units. It’s especially tailored to schools and large departments which manage multiple interrelated sites.

The primary objectives of PAWS are to simplify website management, enhance the user experience, and ensure compliance with UCSF standards.  

Why PAWS?

UCSF has over 30 academic units of this scale, many with websites over 5 years old or running on software approaching end-of-life. The current approach of “fend for yourself” often leads to high costs, time-consuming builds, and unpredictable maintenance demands.

As a result, the status quo often leads to a fragmented user experience and disjointed brand identity for both editors and visitors. In some cases, site visitors are unable to find the information they need or what they do find is out of date or incomplete.