Who needs to meet the requirements?
Administrators, managers, editors and owners of McGill websites on centrally supported web platforms including WMS, VHost and blogs.mcgill.ca
Update December 17, 2022: The deadline to meet the requirements has been extended to March 31, 2022.
Why are these requirements necessary?
McGill's mandatory web training courses and the user access guidelines form help ensure all users are aware of requirements and best practices for building McGill websites. Some of these requirements include implications that, if not followed, could result in legal action, human rights issues and/or reputational damage to the university.
What are the requirements?
Training requirements
Two content training courses are mandatory for all WMS, VHost and blogs.mcgill.ca users:
- WS 100 Writing for the web
- WS 101 McGill's Digital Standards
Technical training courses are also required for WMS users:
- WMS 300 Site editor training听 (WMS site administrators, managers and editors)
- WMS 301 Site manager training听 (WMS site administrators and managers)
Need to complete a required training course? View the training schedule and register for courses on the Training & events page.
If you're uncertain about which training courses you should take, consult the webpage, Which Web Services courses should you take?
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Keeping your training up-to-date (recommended, but not required)
To ensure your training remains current it's recommended you retake the WMS 300 and 301 training courses every three years and the Web Services training refresher modules every two years. Please note that for the time being this is a recommendation and not a requirement.
Alternative option to taking the WS 100 and WS 101 training courses
If you don't have time to take the WS 100 and/or the听WS 101 training courses, you can opt to take our听equivalency tests.听To obtain access to the equivalency test, please contact听web.communications [at] mcgill.ca
Please note:
- There are 35 questions per equivalency test.
- You must obtain a passing grade of 85% (30/35) to avoid taking the courses.听
- You are allowed unlimited attempts to obtain a passing grade.
- The equivalency test takes about 30 minutes to complete.
User access guidelines form
In addition to training requirements, all WMS, VHost and blogs.mcgill.ca users must also complete the user access guidelines form.
When is the deadline?
The deadline for completing all requirements is December 31, 2021 - the revised deadline is March 31, 2022.
New staff members must complete all the requirements before access can be granted to WMS, VHost and .
Current staff members, who already had access to WMS, Vhost and blogs.mcgill.ca platforms prior to 2018 when the new training courses and user access guidelines form were introduced, were given a 2+ year grace period (November 2019 to December 2021) to complete the requirements.
What will happen if the requirements are not met by December 31, 2021 March 31, 2022?
Completing these requirements will ensure you're aware of standards and best practices that if not followed, could result in legal action, human rights issues and/or reputational damage to the university. If you're unable to complete the requirements by March 31, 2022 you risk losing access to edit, manage or administrate WMS, VHost or blogs.mcgill.ca websites. Completing the requirements before March 31, 2022 will ensure you avoid this possibility.
New users requesting access after March 31, 2022
After March 31, 2022, new WMS, VHost and blogs.mcgill.ca users must complete WS 100 Writing for the web and WS 101 McGill's Digital Standards within 6 months of receiving access. As always, WMS site editors and managers will be required to complete WMS 300 (site editors and managers) and WMS 301 (site managers only) before being granted WMS access.听