The presence of Associated Students of Washington State University (ASWSU) is wide and active on campus, but it is not nearly as active on the Internet.

While consistently campaigning with regular and frequent updates on social media, the ASWSU official website has not been updated in more than a year and the staff continues to await approval in order to begin construction.

Advisers told ASWSU that approval will take place “next week” for the past three weeks, ASWSU Vice President Samantha Kieling said.

ASWSU has informed the student body of a website update coming soon which will feature a series of interactive tools.

Tools will include a new school-wide calendar that will highlight all ASWSU events and what each of the 12 ASWSU committees are doing. Students can also submit approved events to be displayed.

Due to the success of the #DearWSU Campaign, the website will feature a digital suggestion box that will allow students to give ASWSU feedback on campus related issues year-round.

“We really want to make the website a place for students to be engaged and let us know what they are thinking,” said Zak Cherif, ASWSU director of communication.

ASWSU decided to use a freelance developer instead of going through the university because it wanted full control over media content and how the website looks, Kieling said. ASWSU also decided starting from scratch would be most sensible because the current website would require a huge process in order to make an interactive transformation.

A freelance developer has been in contact with Cherif, but the process has been put on hold because the contract regarding a payment agreement has yet to be approved.

The website contract is currently in the purchasing office awaiting approval, said Brian Shuffield, ASWSU executive staff adviser. After approval, the developer can begin filling in content, a process which can take one to three weeks.

Projects similar to this in the past have used a flat rate form of payment and have been approved in a timely manner. This contractor offered a different payment form. The contractor is willing to work up to a certain amount of hours for $5,000, Cherif said. He believes this form of payment is more lucrative for the university.

“We wanted to make an investment in something more professionally done that would carry over past our term,” Cherif said.

Two years ago, the presence of ASWSU was strictly on social media. The delay of online presence has had little impact because ASWSU has gone out of the way to make more face-to-face contact. However, the website is the fastest way to transport information and the update will be efficient for students to share ideas, Cherif said.

“I am really, really hoping for a January launch,” Cherif said.