Departmental Web Site Best Practices for Attracting, Engaging, and Informing Prospective Graduate St

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Departmental Web Site Best Practices for
Attracting, Engaging, and Informing Prospective
Graduate StudentsThe University of ToledoApril
5-6, 2006

• Presented by Mark Zidzik and Jim Swinarski

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Presentation Outline
Attracting Prospective Graduate Students Search
Engine Optimization (SEO) Really Simple
Syndication (RSS) News Feeds Engaging Prospective
Graduate Students Podcasts Blogs Informing
Prospective Graduate Students Content and
Tone Format and Design Functionality and
Navigation Please ask questions throughout the
presentation.
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Attracting Prospective Students Using Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization is the process of
increasing the amount of visitors to a web site
by improving its rank in the search results of a
search engine (e.g., Google, Altavista, etc.).
The higher a web site ranks in the results of a
search, the greater the probability that the site
will be visited by a user. Because it is common
for Internet users to not click through pages and
pages of search results, a high rank is essential
for directing more traffic to a site.
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Attracting Prospective Students Using Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)
Three easily modifiable web page elements found
in the HTML source code that help determine a
pages search engine rankings are

• Title Tag a keyword-rich heading that displays
  in the web pages header and browser bookmarks.
  Per Search Engine Watch, The text you use in the
  title tag is one of the most important factors in
  how a search engine may decide to rank your web
  page.
• Meta Description Tag keyword-rich text that
  displays as the web pages description in some
  search engines result listings. Search engines
  typically display 150 characters from the meta
  description tag so include the most important
  keywords up front.
• Keywords Tag a string of keywords also used in
  the body of a web page that may improve the
  pages rank on some search engines.
• (See http//searchenginewatch.com/webmasters/artic
  le.php/2167931 to read Search Engine Watchs
  article How to Use HTML Meta Tags.)

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Attracting Prospective Students Using Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)
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Attracting Prospective Students Using Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)
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Attracting Prospective Students Using Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)
ltMETA NAME"ROBOTS" CONTENT"INDEX,FOLLOW"gt ltmeta
name"author" content"The Ohio State University,
College of Pharmacy."gt ltmeta name"description"
content"The Ohio State University, College of
Pharmacy. This site requires Acrobat
Reader."gt ltmeta name"keywords" content"Ohio
State College of Pharmacy, Pharmacy Education,
Ohio Pharmacy Education, Pharmacology,
Pharmacology Education, Pharmacology Grauate
Program, Pharmaceutics, Pharmaceutics Education,
Pharmaceutics Graduate Program, Medicinal
Chemistry and Pharmacognosy, Medicinal Chemistry
Education, Medicinal Chemistry Graduate Program,
Pharmaceutical Administration, Pharmaceutical
Administration Graduate Program, Pharmacy
Professional Program, Pharm.D, Ph.D. in
Pharmaceutics, ohio, state, university"gt
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Attracting Prospective Students Using Really
Simple Syndication (RSS)
Per http//www.webopedia.com/TERM/R/RSS.html, RSS
is Short for RDF Site Summary or Rich Site
Summary, an XML format for syndicating Web
content. A Web site that wants to allow other
sites to publish some of its content creates an
RSS document and registers the document with an
RSS publisher. A user that can read
RSS-distributed content can use the content on a
different site. Syndicated content includes such
data as news feeds, events listings, news
stories, headlines, project updates, excerpts
from discussion forums or even corporate
information.
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Attracting Prospective Students Using Really
Simple Syndication (RSS)
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Attracting Prospective Students Using Really
Simple Syndication (RSS)
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Attracting Prospective Students Using Really
Simple Syndication (RSS)
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Attracting Prospective Students Using Really
Simple Syndication (RSS)
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Attracting Prospective Students Using Really
Simple Syndication (RSS)
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Engaging Prospective Students Using Podcasts
The FAQ on the University of Oregon School of
Architecture and Allied Arts web page defines a
podcast as a web feed of audio and/or video on
the Internet for anyone to subscribe to.
Podcasters' web sites may offer direct downloads
of the audio files, but the subscription feed of
automatically delivered new content is what
distinguishes a podcast from a simple download or
real-time streaming.
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Engaging Prospective Students Using Podcasts
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Engaging Prospective Students Using Podcasts
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Engaging Prospective Students Using Blogs
Per http//www.webopedia.com/TERM/b/blog.html, a
blog is Short for web log, a blog is a Web page
that serves as a publicly accessible personal
journal for an individual. Typically updated
daily, blogs often reflect the personality of the
author.
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Engaging Prospective Students Using Blogs
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Engaging Prospective Students Using Blogs
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Informing Prospective Students Web Site Content
and Tone
Dos and Donts

• Use a Welcoming and Supportive Tone
• Avoid Bureaucratic Abbreviations and Insider
  Jargon
• Maintain Timeliness show the date last updated
• Omit Fluff leave it to the Universitys web
  pages to describe the beautiful campus and the
  pastoral, small-town or dynamic, urban
  environment
• Include succinct yet keyword-rich text on the
  home page highlighting the unique characteristics
  of your department to improve the departments
  competitive position relative to its peers and
  the web pages search engine ranking (see
  Statement of Identity on next slide)

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Informing Prospective Students Web Site Content
and Tone
Department/Program Information

• Name visibility and consistency of presentation
• Statement of Identify niche in field (i.e., how
  differs from peers/ competitors) issue- or
  problem-solving orientation ongoing development
  academic strengths and rigor research
  opportunities faculty/student interaction
  diversity/inclusiveness faculty and staff
  members interest in the student as an individual
• Message from the Chairperson or Program Head
  welcoming, supportive, timely, and informative
• Degree/Certificate Information list by level
  specify prerequisites, curricular requirements,
  and time commitment
• Rankings no problem if in Top 10 otherwise,
  dispel one size fits all ranking methodologies
  using Statement of Identify above

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Informing Prospective Students Web Site Content
and Tone
Prospective Student Information

• Link(s) on Departmental/Program Home Page
  separate, top-tier links for important student
  cohorts (e.g., international students,
  nontraditional students, non-majors, etc.) do
  not bury under general information for
  prospective students
• Media open houses, online chats,
  application-related podcasts, faculty research
  blogs, student profiles, student a day in a
  life blogs, student ambassador blogs and
  e-mail links downloadable foreign-language
  brochures for parents of international and
  first-generation Hispanic students
  department/program news and events (especially,
  faculty and student achievements), links to
  information about the locality
• Admissions Requirements, Financial Support
  Information, Application Forms, Deadlines, and
  Processes always present with a supportivenot a
  bureaucratic or punitivetone impart a helpful
  interest in a students successful application

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Informing Prospective Students Web Site Content
and Tone
Current Student Information of Interest to
Prospective Students

• Graduate Student Directory group listings by
  research interest include nationality and
  contact information any and all students like
  me information
• Thesis and Dissertation Abstracts of Recent
  Alumni
• Student-Faculty Relationships profile
  mentoring/advising and research collaborations
  emphasize faculty accessibility and involvement
• Graduate Student Support Services
• Course, Class, Seminar, and Lab Information
• Thesis and Dissertation Guidelines and Committee
  Membership Requirements

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Informing Prospective Students Web Site Content
and Tone
Faculty, Post-Doc, and Staff Information

• Faculty, Post-Doc, and Staff Directory provide
  full contact information for each person (e-mail,
  phone, fax, mailing address, personal web page)
  and office hours for scheduling visits group by
  function or research interest, not alphabetically
• Link occurrences of faculty names throughout the
  web site to their directory listings contact
  information
• Profile current faculty research and publication
  information
• Link to any faculty members class and lab web
  pages

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Informing Prospective Students Web Site Content
and Tone
Research Profile

• Centers and Institutes
• Facilities
• Equipment
• Intra- and Extra-University Collaborations
• Department-Sponsored Conferences
• Journals and Other Scholarly Works Published by
  Faculty

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Informing Prospective Students Web Site Content
and Tone
Outcomes

• Retention
• Time to Degree
• Completion
• Placement
• Career Information
• Alumni Profiles present a variety of careers,
  positions, and achievements

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Informing Prospective Students Web Page Format
and Design

• Width of Page avoid right-left scrolling
• Height of Page you can only guarantee that
  visitors will see the first screen of any web
  page
• Layout of Page every square inch of online real
  estate is valuable use it constructively and
  aesthetically
• Colored Backgrounds and Fonts if its hard to
  read, it wont be read
• Design Consistency Across Pages a foolish
  consistency may be the hobgoblin of little minds
  but uniformity of design and function never hurt
  a web site
• Animation use it sparingly to avoid distracting
  readers
• Printability if it cant be printed, you cant
  take it with you
• Frames can hinder search engine optimization

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Informing Prospective Students Web Site
Functionality and Navigation

• Page Loading Time
• Menu Usability
• Site Map or Search for Department/Program Content
• Broken/Redirected Links
• Inconsistent Use of Links and Hidden Links
• Links Exit the Department/Programs Web Site
  Instead of Opening a New Browser Window
• Browsers Back Button Does Not Return to Previous
  Web Page
• Web Accessibility for the Disabled
• Always Test the Above Using a Variety of
  Operating Systems, Connection Speeds, and Browsers

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Informing Prospective Students Web Site
Functionality and Navigation
Include Multiple Links to

• Departmental/Program E-mail Addresses for
  Inquiries
• Online or Print Application Forms
• Online Graduate Catalog and Graduate Student
  Handbook
• Graduate Schools Home Page
• Financial Aid Offices Home Page (if involved
  with the financial support of graduate students)
• Related Department/Programs Home Pages or Joint
  Program Information
• Discipline-Specific Organizations Web Sites
• Universitys Home Page

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Contacts
To get answers to your questions or to update the
content of your services, contact Jim
Swinarski Phone [phone] ext. 3274 E-mail
jim.swinarski_at_thomson.com Mark Zidzik Phone
1-800-338-3282 ext. 3308 E-mail
mark.zidzik_at_thomson.com