In higher education web development and maintenance there is a great need for simple, efficient, and easy-to-manage database applications. We have recently employed WordPress, and one of its plugins, Formidable, in two different projects: a graduate program students and alumni database, and a Research Experts database.
Project 1 - Graduate program students and alumni database: It is very important to provide networking opportunities for current students and alumni within academic programs, especially for graduate programs such as PhDs. These opportunities can significantly increase student and alumni engagement, enhance career support for current students, and most importantly, foster and reinforce a sense of community. Additionally, featuring these opportunities on the program’s webpage can boost visibility and improve its SEO.
Project 2 - Research Experts database: The Dean of Research requested a database that would increase visibility of faculty and research interests, primarily to encourage potential co-collaborators but also to highlight the depth and breadth of research being conducted at the campus. While such interests are often included in faculty profiles in the general directory, this is not a searchable field, so a separate database solution was required.
In this session, we will demonstrate how to create database-driven listings on the WordPress platform using the Formidable plugin. Attendees will learn how to set up Formidable forms in Sites at Penn State (WordPress), collecting and maintaining the data sets and as well as configuring dynamic data retrieval and display options using an SQL tool called Views, and ultimately how to embed the data within our Drupal platform via iFrame integration.
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