Nathaniel Villegas

 
My last blog post was about FYE Department websites and some criteria I thought these sites should meet. From a list of 50 of the best FYE programs in the nation, I decided to visit each page and came up with a Top 5 of my favorite ones that seem to have a great balance of look and feel, social media usage, and resourcefulness. This post provides a brief look into each of the Top 5 websites.

Indiana University, Bloomington
IU has the total package. On their home page are three clear resources for newly admitted students, first year students, and for parents. Complete with videos, common questions, and an account to track their involvement, IU has truly made an effort to cover every area that a first year steps on. Their social media buttons located clearly, but not in the way of some of the important content. They even encourage students to upload their own photos onto the department’s Flickr account! I also like the student blog that gives admitted students a preview of IU’s student life. Moreover, there are tons info to read up about from events specialized for first years different interest to more broad events like orientation and Welcome Week.

Ohio State University
OSU’s FYE website is simple yet chalk full of resources that first years and faculty/staff members might need. It is a very clean and easy-to-read site that is anything but cluttered. I really like that the navigation bar does not have too many options to choose from. Instead, after clicking a button, it provides links of resources each with a short sentence description and a “Read More” link. What is more cool is their amount of Event Programs that first years can get involved with.

Texas A&M University
In contrast to the other four schools, TAMU’s FYE website is the most simple. Although it is merely text-based, it is not at all boring or plain. For what visuals it lacks, it makes up for with the amount of information and questions answered. The site looks to have every aspect of college covered from transition seminars, to academic assistance, to on-campus housing. What it does lack, though, is a way for students to participate in discussion with the school or with each other. The same goes with Ohio State University’s website. There aren’t any advertised Social Media buttons or forums for students to express questions they might have.

University of Texas, Austin
UT Austin’s website is my top favorite FYE resource. The entire site has its own search engine so you can find almost anything you need. What I love is that the site also solicits student involvement in a dozen ways. UT Austin’s site doesn’t just push information that they expect their students to read. Instead, students are encouraged to ask real question, to follow the school on Twitter, and even to talk to a counselor. The website is very well put together and very impressive–just navigating through the features makes me want to learn more about what they have to offer. Successfully grabbing students’ attention and giving them a chance to dig deeper into the site should be a goal for every FYE site.

University of Wisconsin, Madison
UW Madison has almost every basic feature that the rest of the four other websites have. But what stands out the most is their presence and use of social media tools conveniently located at the bottom of the side navigation bar and not in the way of the important content. Another thing I liked was that they have separate social media accounts for the school and for the department. This website just goes to show that including these buttons doesn’t have to be a design nuisance or a distraction. Instead, it shows how versatile the school is in its new technology presence and that the school is willing to reach beyond their own website to keep in contact with their students.

If you are part of your school’s FYE Department, please feel free to take a look at these websites and see some of the features that I might not have gotten into to detail. Also, share what you like about these websites by leaving a comment.

See the original post on Inigral's blog.

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The first year of college is when students determine how they fit within their school and ultimately whether or not they will continue to attend that school. Higher ed is also figuring out how to fit social media not only into their institution, but additionally to specific departments like First Year Experience. Despite FYE’s importance, resources and guidance using social media in this area is still scarce and remains untapped.

There are some colleges though who are doing their best to provide resources for faculty, staff and students to enhance student first year experience. Out of the 50 Schools with Top FYE Programs, 48 have a Twitter account, 45 have a Facebook Page, and only 15 have Admissions of Student Life related blogs.

Top 5 FYE Websites
Out of the 50 Colleges, there are six that stood out to me as a student (in no particular order):
These schools succeed in providing great FYE websites for their students based on the following criteria:

Look and Feel
Attractive, simple and straight forward. Like with any web user, obvious and easy will keep a college student’s attention. Some things I liked about these Top 5 schools were that they included visuals (appropriate pictures and attractive graphics), topics were easy to find (clear navigation bars and lists), and pages were easy to navigate through. I think visuals are an essential part to creating a first impression with your school. Some of the 50 websites I visited gave varying impressions that made me characterize a school to be school-spirit and community driven or overly playful and technologically backward. Another thing to consider is the amount of text on school websites. Some of the 50 websites could have easily qualified for being a part of my Top 5 list if it weren’t for the fact that the wordiness turned me off from continue navigating through the site any longer. Being too wordy can be intimidating–something that a first year student should never experience.

Use of Social Media
Twitter accounts should be easy to find and should be obviously managed by the school. Almost half of the schools had a Twitter account for multiple departments. Others, unfortunately, only had either their News/Media Relations department and Athletics department as the only school accounts searchable on Twitter or Google. I understand how this can be great for fans and alumni across the country, but for prospect or newly admitted students, this may not cut it in enhancing school experience.

Facebook Pages are a great way to push information and updates to fans and, if schools are willing to take the challenge, can allow the school to interact with students through wall posts and discussion topics. Some of the 50 Schools have used their Facebook Page as a landing page to direct visitors back to the actual school website.

Blogs include Admissions Blogs and Student Life Blogs featuring students and staff sharing their experiences and advice for new students. I find that this is a great way to offer accounts of actual peer-experience, not what Admissions Officers think students experience.

Integration of Twitter, Facebook, and blogs into these FYE websites is important for gaining subscribers and followers because it makes these social media tools known to site visitors who may not make the effort to look for your presence in these social media.

Resourcefulness
Probably the main reason first years visit their school’s FYE site is to have questions answered. A perfect FYE Department would have gone through all the research to find the most common topics that first years usually have questions about. For my Top 5 schools, it seems like they have done just that. Unlike the other schools’ sites I’ve seen, my Top 5 schools don’t flood their website with every FAQ that has been asked. For more less common questions, a good FYE website would direct a visitor to another departmental page or even have a counselor ready to answer questions on a forum or through instant message chat.

Keeping first year students engaged with your school and with each other before and during their first year is critical to retention. One main way schools do this is through their school’s websites. It is important for the content on these websites to be helpful and relevant. What’s just as important is reaching out to student where they are already present, such as Twitter and Facebook. These Top 5 schools are a good example of trying to meet both important elements.

To see more detail about why I chose these 5 schools, read Five Impressive First-Year Experience Websites.

See the original post on Inigral's blog.
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