Websites and Universities: A correlation?

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by angela, Dec 9, 2003.

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  1. angela

    angela New Member

    A slightly tongue-in-cheek question:

    Do you think the quality of a website is any indication of the quality of the university (or school/program) behind it?

    Obviously mills are an exceptional case, but has anyone given any thought to the relationship (if any?), because the website experience obviously plays a significant role in the decision process of many DL students.
     
  2. Ike

    Ike New Member


    No. I don't think so. There were several top schools that had lousy home pages until a couple couple of years ago.
     
  3. angela

    angela New Member

    And Yet ....

    But I've found that the impression one has in contating an institution (university or other) is very relevent. Places where the telephones go unanswered, where routine correspondence is inefficient etc, tend be operations one should avoid. Why should websites not also, at least in part, be test of operational competence, which particularly from the perspective of the DL student, is very important?

    Or does it fall into the realm of intellectual elitism, where for example some academics scorn preparing professional presentations for fear they appear to be not serious enough thinkers? If you believe this has validity, then any sign of operational effectivenss should be avoided!

    My opinion is that while a fancy webste won't convince me about a university, a really poor one while make me pretty sceptical. Why should a place be able to get away with poor packaging?

    The members of this board should be able to put together a really good desgn spec for a good university website!

    I would start by grouping all programs together, not splitting undergrad, grad (masters) and research into 3 pages , and by making it easy to find the DL options (these are often "hidden"). Also, make accreditions a one-click (at most) option. A direct link between program and fees is also important.

    Over to the others!
     
  4. chris

    chris New Member

    But it's all preference

    Personally, I prefer having separate undergrad, grad school, and distance learning pages. I hate weeding through the chaff to get what I want. Plus, we 56k modem users don't want to have to download a lot of extra data on each page. The issue you addressed is really a technical issue more than a style issue.
     
  5. Jack Tracey

    Jack Tracey New Member

    I'm not sure you could say that the school with the best web site is the best school but it's clear that there are huge differences in the quality of school web sites out there. The biggest factor for me is the organizational structure of the web site, how to get at the information you need. In some sites this seems clear, logical and consistent throughout the site. Other sites are very convoluted and frustrating. The old UNISA site was very difficult to navigate. It seems better now although I haven't explored it extensively since the changeover.
    Jack
     

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