1.10: Navigating The College Website
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“A journey of a thousand sites begins with a single click.”
– Author Unknown
A college website can be like a cookbook, full of great information and ideas, and can be completely overwhelming. Where do you start? Looking at the pictures? Scrolling down through the information? Can you taste the food in your mind just by looking at a picture? Can you imagine a food just from the list of ingredients? Is the number of ingredients needed to make the recipe exciting or paralyzing? How experienced a cook you are can impact your reaction to the cookbook.
As you begin navigating new information, remember, world-famous chef and author, Julia Child wasn’t always a great chef! In fact, when she got married, she could barely cook. Experience isn’t everything. An open mind is paramount. Let the joy of discovering be your guide.
“Take risks and you’ll get pay offs. Learn from your mistakes until you succeed. It’s that simple.”
– Bobby Flay, Master Chef
The role of a college website has changed substantially over the past few years. Student expectations for easy, accessible information drives colleges to get as much information online as possible. It also can lead to a battle for what information makes it onto the home page and how many clicks it will take to find what the student is looking for.
Student services are increasingly utilizing the college website to communicate with students and expecting that students will be proficient in navigating the college website. Students expect to easily locate information; this is helped when the college uses logical organization to the information architecture and design of the website. College websites can be very frustrating to new users, especially if the new user is a first-time college student and is unfamiliar with the underlying structure of the college system. The people creating the college web site may be very familiar with the way their system works and not see the structure as confusing.
Adding to potential confusion can be the lack of ability to view the entire home page of the college depending on the size of monitor or mobile device the student is accessing the website from. Students are increasingly using smart phones and tablets as their primary viewing device for the Internet. Sometimes key information a student needs may be just out of view on the screen. The experienced user knows to make adjustments, but new users may not. Knowing where and how to get started may not be as easy as the “start here” button.
Logical arrangement of information for the college’s needs may not be a logical progression of information for the student’s needs. From the college perspective, students come in different groups/classifications. Here are some examples:
Each of these groups can have variations on what their first steps should be. Students aren’t necessarily used to thinking of themselves in terms of these classifications/groups. It can be difficult for first time students, who may fit into more than one of these groups, to decide which one is the place to start.
Most college websites have a “Getting Started” type button on the home page. After clicking that button, a student begins to make a decision about what category of student he or she is. To an experienced user, this is not an obstacle, but to the first-time college student it may be a barrier. For example, what if a student falls into more than one group or classification? Where does the person fit? The answer may vary from college to college.
In addition, some college websites may not be mobile friendly so that students who are trying to use smartphones or tablets may face additional obstacles. Despite the potential difficulties, today’s college students need to become savvy users of the college website and recognize the role it will play in the communication process.
Pick 2 different colleges and examine their websites. Try to find the following information on each of the websites.
Website Challenge Reflection
The college website will be part of your communication system with the college you attend.
As you watch John Green’s Ted Talk, think about what information applies to college websites.
A TED element has been excluded from this version of the text. You can view it online here: https://press.rebus.community/blueprint2/?p=33
CC licensed content, Previously shared:
A Different Road To College: A Guide For Transitioning To College For Non-traditional Students. Authored by: Alise Lamoreaux. Located at: https://openoregon.pressbooks.pub/co...ter/chapter-6/ License: CC BY: Attribution.
Adaptions: Reformatted, some content adapted or deleted for broader audience. Edits made based on peer review suggestions.
John Green: The Nerd’s Guide to Learning Everything Online. Authored by TED.com
Located at: https://www.ted.com/talks/john_green...rything_online
License: CC BY – NC – ND 4.0 International.