western idaho college student life department: a website with a new perspective seth hodge, camilla...

Western Idaho College Student Life

Department: A Website with a New PerspectiveSeth Hodge, Camilla Jones, Devin Schehrer

Clemson University

Significance of the Website

• Today’s students want immediacy and ease to gather information

• Individuals are spending substantial amounts of time out of the workday on the internet

• Working on-line helps with the current budget crisis in higher education

Charge

Our charge is to review and propose changes to the Student Life Department Website of Western Idaho College based on the created philosophy of the website

and current literature.

Philosophy and New Perspective

of the WebsiteWe are dedicated to fulfilling the following goals, which

represent the College and Department• Meet the Needs of Viewers• Maintain Consistency• Publications• Positive Student Development• Awareness of Resources• Well-maintained, Up-to-date, and Available• Logical Sequence• Aesthetically Pleasing

Meets the needs of current and prospective students

as well as visitors, alumni, and parents

Current Students and Parents

• The internet is a staple of the educational experience

• The Millenial’s parents are more involved with their students lives than other generations before

• By expanding on the activities available on the web (such as a schedule of events or an on-line chat room) as well as the important information for the students (such as the publications) the students can have all of the resources at their fingertips

Prospective Students and Visitors

• 78% of prospective students used homepages as their first visit to campus in 1998, now that number is nearly 100% (Banning, Davies, & Quick, 2000)

• 97% of prospective students surveyed, rate the content (admission content and environmental content) as important or very important on the website (Pooke & Lefond, 2001)

Prospective Students and Visitors, Continued• Separate links for prospective students or visitors

and then another for current students allow specific terms used for the College not to confuse people (i.e. using academic major for visitors rather than academic college)

• Build relationships with the virtual visitor by recognizing the same computer logging onto the site through cookies or log-ins

Alumni

• Alumni connections are crucial to a program through monetary donations and support

• Possible additions to the site – “Student Life workers – where are they now?” to allow

former employees to maintain contact with each other as well as continue in the support of their alma mater

– Alumni Activities across the country

Maintains consistency with the College

Mission

“One of the key attributes of a strong mission-driven public university is

collaboration across the university as well as between the university and its

constituencies.” (Writ, 1999, p.454)

Mission and Goals

In accordance to SACS guidelines, all departments within the College must develop their mission and goals in accordance with the

College’s mission.

Unified Webpage

• Support of other departments across the webpage unifies the College and demonstrates the collaboration within the College for the user– Link to the College homepage

– Link to academic departments

Indicate specific policies and procedures of the

Department

Policies

In order for policies to be seen as educational opportunities and focus on student development, the following aspects concerning policies need to be included:

- Handbook

- Policies

- Forms for Situation Documentation

- Judicial Process Outline

- Student Rights

Procedures

Through the publications link, the following information will be provided to the viewer:

• Divisional Flow Charts• Manuals• Brochures• Literature• Newsletters• Contracts

Promotes an atmosphere of positive student

development

Student Development

Astin’s Theory of Involvement

Students learn by getting involved on campus. Through the active website, students know with ease what activities are occurring, which may include:

• On-line chat areas for involvement

• On-line calendar for easy access for students

• Links to other student organization web-pages

Student Development

Tinto’s Theory of Student Departure

Student retention is strongly related to the degree of academic and social integration• Integrate academic and social aspects of WIC on the

website

• Make viewers aware of the connection between the Student Life Department to the rest of WIC

Student Development with Respect to Policies and Procedures

The goal is to “provide learning experiences for students who are found responsible…” and to “initiate and encourage educational activities that serve to prevent violations of campus regulations.” (Judicial Programs

and Services CAS Standards)

Policies and Procedures

Through the website, the viewer will understand the educational philosophy and mission of student judicial services, which

will lead to further student development and taking responsibility for ones’ actions.

To create an awareness of resources

available at Western Idaho College

A Virtual, Informative Student Community

Students are already active Internet users and computers are integrated into their lifestyles; therefore, students are already creating their

own virtual campuses. (Barratt & Potts, 2002)

An On-line Community

Indiana State University has provided one such on-line community for its’ students, which

allows students to interact on-line with each other, learn about the campus and outside

community, and see photographs of past events.(http://blumberghall.indstate.edu/)

Resources Available On-line

Campus:

Frequently Asked Questions

Facts/Information/History

Directory/Phonebook

Offices/Services/Departments

Calendar of Events & Dates

Maps/Photos

Newspaper

Publications

Chat Room

Community:

Frequently Asked Questions

Facts/Information/History

Phonebook

Support Services/Programs

Calendar

Retail Shops

Area Maps/Directions

Newspaper

Photos

Ensure that the website is well-maintained, up-to-date, and continuously available

Impressions of the Website

• Information must be kept accurate and current as the website is a continuous tool for our students, faculty, staff, and prospective students

• All links must be maintained, because dead links create an inability to access vital information

• For many the website is the first connection to WIC Student Life, first impressions set the standard for the remainder of the relationship

Maintains a logical sequence within the site-map

• Functionality is maintained through a logical layout utilizing drop menus off of the main Student Life Department Website

• By keeping things condensed and within divisions easy navigation is achieved creating a user friendly environment

• Target audience is kept in mind when information is put on the website so the information can be best utilized

Sequencing

Remain aesthetically pleasing while functional

Webpage Aesthetics

• While working within the confines of such standardized elements as school colors, visually stimulating layouts that make the browser want to continue their search are utilized

• A standardized pattern is created within the Student Life homepage and its’ sub-pages to create consistency

Sample schematic of the new layout of our Student Life

Department homepage

WIC HomeWIC Home

AlumniAlumni

Divisions Divisions

PublicationsPublications

Current StudentsCurrent Students

News and EventsNews and Events

Prospective Students/VisitorsProspective Students/Visitors

Western Idaho CollegeWestern Idaho College

Review of the New Perspective

We are dedicated to fulfilling the following goals, which represent the College and Department:

• Meets the needs of current and prospective students as well as visitors, alumni, and parents

• Maintains consistency with the College• Indicates specific policies and procedures of the Department• Promotes an atmosphere of positive student development• Creates an awareness of resources available at Western Idaho College• Ensure that the website is well-maintained, up-to-date, and

continuously available• Maintains a logical sequence within the site-map• Remains aesthetically pleasing while functional

We look forward to the development of the new Western

Idaho College Student Life Department website to help us achieve our New Perspective.

References

Association for Student Judicial Affairs. (1997) Judicial programs and services CAS standards and guidelines. Retrieved February 20,2003, from asja.tamu.edu/CAS%20Judicial%20SGs.pdf

Banning, J., Davies, T., & Quick, D. (2000). The campus web visit. Student Affairs On-line (1)3. Retrieved February 19, 2003, from http:// studentaffairs.com/ejournal/Fall_2000/art3.html

Barratt, W., & Potts, C. (2002). Where is the virtual campus union? Student Affairs On-line (3)4. Retrieved February 19, 2003 from http://studentaffairs.com/ejournal/Fall_2002/virtualcampusunion.html

References, Continued

Pooke M. C., & Lefond, D. (2001). How college-bound prospects perceive

university websites: Findings, implications, and turning browsers into

applicants. College and University (77)1, 15-21.

Writ, A. (1999) Partnerships for progress. Education (119)3, 454-459.