Helping prospective graduate students find information about MSU

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Helping prospective graduate students find
information about MSU

• Jim Green
• Academic Computing and Network Services
• Chair, MSU Web Team
• Christina Tower
• University Relations
• July 19, 2006

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This meetings purpose

• Review the current situation and recent
  developments
• Gather information from stakeholders and
  interested parties
• Begin a dialog process toward determining the
  best course of action
• Decide on the next steps

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MSU Web Team

• MSU Web Team
• Joint UR/LCT team
• oversees www.msu.edu
• content, design, and infrastructure
• with direction from upper management
• advises and assists departments with their web
  initiatives
• facilitate web design that will fit in with
  official MSU web sites

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Background

• 2003 www.msu.edu redesign project
• graduate portal as a follow-on project
• prospective students is top target audience
• information architecture findability is the
  top design priority
• 2006 www.msu.edu redesign
• 2006 admissions.msu.edu redesign
• 2006-2007 search.msu.edu redesign
• May 15 meeting with Janet and Les

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Basic tasks

• find program information
• degrees
• majors/minors
• fields/areas of study
• interdisciplinary programs
• apply online
• special program/dept. procedures
• find research and teaching opportunites
• assistantships
• learn about and apply for financial aid
• find information about the MSU and EL communities

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Current situation

• multiple front doors -- institutional
• grad.msu.edu (Graduate School)
• admissions.msu.edu/beaspartan.com (Admissions)
• www.vprgs.msu.edu (VP for Research and Graduate
  Studies)
• www.msu.edu/future/index.html (MSUs main web
  site)
• http//csp.msu.edu/pages/explore/grdintro.cfm
  (Career Services Placement)
• and at the college level
• www.ns.msu.edu/pstudents/index.php (College of
  Nat. Sci.)
• http//www.cal.msu.edu/portals/ProspectiveStudents
  .htm (Arts Letters)
• http//cas.msu.edu/prospectivestudents.php (CAS)
• http//web4.canr.msu.edu/canrhome/display_page.asp
  ?topicGraduatethemeProspective20Studentspagen
  ameDepartment20Links (College of Ag.)

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Case Study program information

• Multiple lists of programs/majors
• Registrar Academic Programs and Descriptions of
  Courses
• Admissions majors list
• MSU web site academic programs list
• Graduate School colleges and programs list

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Potential issues

• Decentralization presents problems for users
• Information overlaps and gaps
• Programs, degrees, majors, minors, fields of
  study
• Multiple places to look for information
• Never sure youve seen all thats available
• Lack of uniformity in how information is arranged
• Need to search/browse across all sources of info
• searchers vs. browsers
• PDF format is a barrier

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Examples from other institutions

• Cornell
• no keyword search, but drop-down combined with
  tabbed info display are fairly effective
• Minnesota
• A to Z majors searchable
• multiple lists and catalogs
• Ohio State
• Separate programs and fields of study lists
• Programs searchable Fields of Study is A to Z
  only

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Possible courses of action

• Do nothing
• Minor adjustments to existing resources
• Further investigation
• meetings, brainstorming
• focus groups, usability studies
• Smaller, targeted projects
• programs/fields database/search
• Be a Spartan for grads?
• Larger graduate resources web design project
• where would this fit?

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Further information

• Jim Green, Coordinator, Academic Systems
• Academic Computing and Network Svcs.
• jfgreen_at_msu.edu
• 432-7239
• PowerPoint and handouthttp//www.msu.edu/jfgree
  n/presentations