University Business - January 2012 - (Page 52)

A Home[page] for All job.” But it’s not always that clear cut. “Unfortunately, there is no magic algorithm to decide who to cater to,” says Matt Kluemper, web design manager with Plattform Higher Ed, a marketing company. Reviewing where traffic is coming from and what keywords are being used can help determine the primary audience, says Joe Mulvihill, SEO manager at Plattform. After completing a major redesign two and a half years ago, leaders at Assumption are now adding a virtual tour. A lesson they learned from the previous project is to help campus stakeholders understand that “the most important audience is the external one,” says Evan Lipp, vice president for enrollment management. “Before I start a redesign project, I tell people the best websites are not democracies; not every user should be treated equally on the home page,” says Geyer. “You have Community College is not having trouble finding students, says Paula Gower, director of marketing, “but that won’t always necessarily be the case.” Her team worked with Noel-Levitz to ensure its redesigned site, which launched in mid-November, works for current students, but still attracts prospective students. 5. Make a plan for ongoing upkeep. There is no point in building a new site if no one is going to maintain it, because you can quickly go from “having an elegant site to having a hot mess a few months later,” cautions Geyer. “It’s an important thing and dangerous not to put these checks in place.” “If I’m in a university where I can convince the functional groups to take ownership, I stand a better chance of seeing incremental changes take place,” says Matthews. But institutions that put it all on IT “are lucky to see changes every two years.” Regular communication with Assumption faculty ensures information on the website is accurate. “As they update the course catalog, we ask them to review their webpage and provide us with updates,” says Renee Buisson, director of public affairs. “We remind them annually, so it can’t fall off their radar.” Moraine avoids a bottleneck by allowing content owners in each department to make changes without going through IT, shares Blakeslee. Everyone agrees regular reviews are key to keeping the website fresh. “We have quarterly post launch reviews,” says Gower. “That’s the great thing about the web; you can update on the fly.” See the online version of this article for more examples of college and university website redesigns done well, plus best practices for web navigation and analytics. 4. Balance facts with campus culture. While campus leaders might see the website as a way to tell students how great the college is, visitors have much drier goals in mind. Referring to Noel-Levitz’s annual e-Expectations report, Geyer says, “We see this year after year; no matter how we ask the question, we see the same goals bringing students to the website: Do you have my major, can I see it, can I afford it, and can I get accepted.” A web content committee guided the redesign of Moraine Park Technical College’s website. to choose a lens and look through it. If you aren’t brave enough to do that, then you have too much information on your home page and no one is happy.” That is an issue to which Friends U Communications Director Gisele McMinimy can attest. Before working with Plattform on its redesign, the old Friends website was “a brochure site that presented a lot of information. It wasn’t clear what audience it was servicing,” she says. “We are still working with that. We have people coming to us and saying ‘this would be great on the site’ and we have to decide if it will fit and, if not, how to distribute it.” Still, flexibility is key because the target audience today might not be the same a few months from now. In the current economic climate, Oklahoma City 52 | January 2012 “The most important reason a student will select a college is academic program,” agrees Lipp. “But without a doubt, through design and images, the character will come through … to draw them in,” something they hope their new virtual tour will do. “We found that students find more value in reading about actual events rather than stories that had been packaged and cultivated,” says Brown. Now, the Loyola homepage features general-campus news stories, which are still hand selected, but appeal to both current and prospective students. “Regular” news stories covering campus events and student accomplishments are also conveying campus culture at UT-Tyler, says Golden. “I think that will give prospective students and their parents an idea of what our university does.” Resources Adobe, www.adobe.com eduStyle, www.edustyle.net iModules, www.imodules.com Noel-Levitz, www.noellevitz.com Omniture (an Adobe company), www.omniture.com Pipitone Group, www.pipitonegroup.com Plattform Higher Education, www.plattformhighereducation.com SunGard Higher Education, www.sungardhe.com universitybusiness.com http://www.adobe.com http://www.edustyle.net http://www.imodules.com http://www.noellevitz.com http://www.omniture.com http://www.pipitonegroup.com http://www.plattformhighereducation.com http://www.sungardhe.com http://www.universitybusiness.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of University Business - January 2012

University Business - January 2012
Contents
Editor's Note
College Index
Ad Index
Behind the News
Human Resources
Campus CFo
Getting Carded
Choosing telepresence
boosting the bottom line
Printer Purchase Pointers
Money Matters
Viewpoint
End Note

University Business - January 2012

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