Using online school directories....

Hi folks, I'm new to this board. I work for an online directory that lists distance learning schools and programs. We're going through an extensive redesign and would like to get feedback from former and current distance learning students.

A few questions I have for you:

1) In what manner did you discover your distance learning program (TV ad, magazine ad, web directory, etc.).

2) Did you consider using a web directory (guidetoonlineschools, classesusa, worldwidelearn, elearners, etc.) to find out about schools?

3) How many different distance learning programs did you evaluate before settling on one?

4) Were you satisfied with the program, given the background information you were provided?


I have a rather long list of questions I'd like to ask, but I'll save them for another time. This will go a long way in helping me find out more about the visitors my site deals with.

Thanks!

Jimmy

 

When ever I see certain schools (Kennedy-Western) listed, I just look at it as - if you are willing to pay, we will list you as a good school - thing.

 

And KWU is there!!!

One bad apple spoils the bunch.

 

Not the whole bunch but I only look with one eye

 

Hey, at least the guy was nice enough to personalize his spam/shilling to this board. You just don't get that kind of courtesy from the Viagra pushers......

Dave

 

Nice to see that online directories don't get a lot of respect. It's my job (usability), so all I want to do is make a better directory that people will respect and use. I can tell it's going to be an uphill battle from all directions.

First off, the reason why there are so many similar sites pushing schools is because setting up the system is relatively easy and then people can just let it run to make money. It's one of the largest online affiliate marketing programs, and also the most reliably profitable, so there's a lot of incentive for people to continue making these sites. If car companies had a similar model and paid out, you'd be seeing the same thing.

I have no say in if a crappy school gets listed or not, but aren't prospective students able to tell a school's legitimacy from the informational brochures and supplemental materials? I'd hate for a site to push sketchy programs, but there is also some due diligence required on the part of the applicants as well.

If I'm getting so much negative feedback here, I guess my efforts should be redirected elsewhere. However, thanks for the insight.

 

Redesign Questions?

Hi. Perhaps if you have some usability questions that you would like people to answer, that would be helpful. Your current list of questions has nothing to do with the content or usability of your website.

Dave

 

Not really. Some people know to look for "accreditation", but don't know what exactly that means, or of a way to verify what a school says.

Since there are fake accreditors and school's have a vested interest to sell students on their program, it is a minefield.

 

- Negative feedback is often better than no feedback. Why are you giving the forum a middle finger?

 

I should state that I am not trying to diss the members of this board, or brew ill-will of any kind.

I understand that people are going to be cynical when it comes to a person working on behalf of a directory site. I haven't viewed the older posts, so I don't know if similar things have happened in the past.

I could definitely ask specific usability questions about site elements:

1. Which do you prefer for navigating a large number of options, javascript dropdown menus, form dropdown menus, or plain text links?

2. Which method of searching by location do you prefer: State, City, Zipcode?

3. Would you click on a Privacy Policy link if a directory site needed to process your information?

4. Do you actively check for security during the submission (Verisign link, etc.)?

5. Between a phone number and an online submission, which would you do to request information?

However, wouldn't it also be helpful if an education directory significantly revamped its content as well? I'd like to know what people want to see from a directory site that currently isn't available. Perhaps people just don't want directory sites and would rather just visit the specific school's website. But, then I'd be out of a job.

As for my questions, I apologize for making them vague. Maybe I was just unprepared, but honestly, I want to know how you folks located and evaluated your past/current distance learning program.

Thanks,

Jimmy

 

Something that I would like to see is a way to separate schools by accreditation - have categories of regionally accredited and nationally accredited as well as the "not accredited by a US Department of Education recognized agency" category. Let people know up front what they are looking at - See the distance learning link on the DANTES page http://www.dantes.doded.mil/dantes_web/danteshome.asp?Flag=True.

I like simple sites. An example is www.gradschools.com. I would like an undergraduate version of it. I can search by location or major. I also like it when I can narrow it down even more - proximity to a zip code is a nice feature. I like when I can choose between distance learning and brick-and-mortar programs.

I prefer online submissions. I prefer giving out my e-mail instead of my phone number when requesting info.

 

Here are some recommendations for site improvement:

- Include a search engine

- Remove the following statement at the bottom of your web pages. "Directory of Accredited Online Degrees and Distance Learning Programs " or remove KW from your listing.

- Expand listing of accredited, chartered, deemed universities and colleges. There are tons of them that are not listed. All you have to do is list the money makers in the front prominent with logos and short descriptions.

- Form a unique name for the site. Incorporate if possible. You may keep your domain names ( site pointers ) and give your home page a unique domain name. This will give your site legitimacy. Expand services beyond directory listings.

 

Frankly, I have very little use for education directories. If I can discern the name of a school, I immediately google it to visit the website.

The problem is in the process of answering those pesky lead qualitification questions. I recall a recent WGU lead qualification form that actually refused to provide information if you didn't answer the questions correctly. Also, UOP programs are difficult to get information about on the web, so high involvement shoppers often look further at more schools to collect their own data. While I realize that some web marketing experts suggest that you should collect all the data you need to rank the lead for followup, the truth is that prospects often experience "respondent fatigue" and simply go around the qualification form for the last few schools they investigate. Hence, if the school is perceived to be in the competitive set and the respondent has to work hard to get the information, the school may be prematurely trimmed from the competitive set (due to incomplete information) because the respondent is tired of answering repetitive questions from a large number of schools. The way we approached this challenge at an Internet startup IT information service was that we asked users to register once to get high quality content about their decision and then they could choose vendors to release their full profiles to. It was simple for the prospect and they felt like they were always in control; it is important to remember that the web visitor is always in control of the process and you are one click away from being forgotten.

Still, education directories offer useful groupings of schools by reputation, services, prices and programs. Also, real, unvarnished testimonials from students are helpful. Ads like you have stretching down your home page aren't that helpful to students, in my opinion.

Dave

 

<looking forlorn> Steve, I'm hurt. Are you hating on me?

 

Dear Jimmy

Many people still seem to use old-fashioned ink on paper. I am told that Bears Guide to Earning Degrees by Distance Learning continues to do well in bookstores, although I haven't been involved after the 15th edition four years ago. Over 500,000 sold.

As for listing unaccredited schools: think of it this way. Suppose you had an online guide to buying wristwatches. You had honest and fair descriptions of the Casios and Timexes and so forth, for $50 to $100 -- and you also listed a "solid gold Rolex" for $100. Some users would be fooled into buying a fake (not good), and the knowledgeable ones would think, "If they're listing that product, it reduces or destroys the credibility of all their other listings." And they click elsewhere.