How to Fix Conflicting or Outdated Information Across GSU Websites

Information about Georgia State programs, deadlines, faculty, services and requirements may appear across multiple university websites. Over time, those sources can become inconsistent.

You might find one page listing 120 required credit hours while another lists 124, one page showing a March 1 application deadline while another says March 15, or different faculty titles across university sites. These are the types of inconsistencies that can make it difficult for users—and search and AI tools—to determine which information is correct.

When you find conflicting information, the goal is not simply to correct your individual webpage. Find the authoritative source and fix the information at its source.

Why Conflicting Information Matters

Students do not necessarily know which Georgia State website or office is responsible for a particular piece of information. They simply expect information from Georgia State to be accurate.

Conflicting information can also affect how university information is understood by search engines and AI tools. AI cannot automatically determine which GSU page contains the correct information when multiple university sources disagree.

When You Find Conflicting Information

Use this process:

1. Find the other occurrences. Search for additional places where the information appears across GSU websites and systems.

2. Identify the information owner. Determine which office, department or university system is responsible for maintaining the information.

3. Confirm the correct information. Work with the appropriate information owner when necessary to determine which version is current.

4. Fix the authoritative source. Correct the information where it is officially maintained.

5. Review other occurrences. Determine whether duplicate versions should be updated, removed or replaced with a connection to the authoritative source.

The workshop summarizes this approach as: find the owner, connect instead of copy and fix it at the source.

Example

Suppose your department website lists an application deadline of March 1, but the official admissions information lists March 15.

Rather than simply changing your department page, first confirm which office owns the deadline and which date is correct.

Then consider whether your department needs to maintain its own copy of the deadline at all. If users can be connected to the authoritative admissions information, future changes can be made in one place.

Think Beyond the Individual Page

Finding incorrect information is an opportunity to improve more than one webpage.

If the same fact is being manually maintained in several locations, correcting each copy may solve today’s problem without addressing the reason the inconsistency occurred.

Whenever possible, move toward a model where the information has a clear authoritative home and other GSU experiences connect to it.

A connected ecosystem is only as good as the information we’re connecting.

Keywords

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