2008 Woodie Awards
Kirkwood Web site ranks in national assessment
Special to the Communique
Issue date: 9/29/05 Section: News
- Page 1 of 1
The NCRCCUA
Lee's Summit, MO
The National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA), the leading organization connecting young people and their families with colleges and universities around the country, released its annual rankings of the admissions Web sites of more than 3,000 postsecondary institutions, including Kirkwood Community College.
The 7th annual Enrollment Power IndexTM(EPI), a research-based analysis, rates how well the functionality and design of college and university Web sites provide information to potential students to take them from prospect to applicant. This year, Kirkwood ranked sixth among the top 10 community colleges with highest-rated admissions Web sites.
"Prospective college students are very Internet-savvy, and they have come to expect the admissions sections of university Web sites to provide critical information to help them make decisions," said Don Munce, President of NRCCUA. "If the sites don't provide what they need, with the ease of navigation they expect, they'll go elsewhere. A quality Web site can now be the difference between a lost prospect and a new student."
EPI measures the ability of a college or university admissions Web site to take students from a prospect to applicant. It provides a detailed analysis of trends and clear indicators of what institutions can do to improve the effectiveness of their sites.
To identify the site features that have the most significant impact of potential students perception of the site, an email survey was sent to more than 100,000 college-bound high school students asking them to rate two admissions Web sites
Next, over 3,000 sites were evaluated to identify functional features present on each site. Statistical tests were then used to identify the functional features that were important to students and their relative importance.
The study examined 28 different criteria that are divided into five main categories: Prominence of an admissions office link on the institution's home page, admissions Web page design and ease of navigation, online access to admissions materials, additional admissions information, ability to contact the admissions office.
This year's research revealed two items that have become more critical to admissions Web sites and are expected by potential students who use the sites: Better navigational elements including a search function and a site map for the admissions section and admissions visit functions such as links to visitor information and a function to schedule visits through the Web site.
"From our in-depth and comprehensive research, there are indicators of what elements will become more important and that potential students will come to expect all sites to have in the near future," said Ron Morris, NRCCUA director of admissions marketing research.
"The next wave of innovation includes the availability for instant messaging with admissions counselors, virtual tours that allow 360 degree interactive points of view on campus, and live Web cams showing popular on-campus student hangouts."
For more information on the EPI study, please visit www.NRCCUA.org.
Lee's Summit, MO
The National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA), the leading organization connecting young people and their families with colleges and universities around the country, released its annual rankings of the admissions Web sites of more than 3,000 postsecondary institutions, including Kirkwood Community College.
The 7th annual Enrollment Power IndexTM(EPI), a research-based analysis, rates how well the functionality and design of college and university Web sites provide information to potential students to take them from prospect to applicant. This year, Kirkwood ranked sixth among the top 10 community colleges with highest-rated admissions Web sites.
"Prospective college students are very Internet-savvy, and they have come to expect the admissions sections of university Web sites to provide critical information to help them make decisions," said Don Munce, President of NRCCUA. "If the sites don't provide what they need, with the ease of navigation they expect, they'll go elsewhere. A quality Web site can now be the difference between a lost prospect and a new student."
EPI measures the ability of a college or university admissions Web site to take students from a prospect to applicant. It provides a detailed analysis of trends and clear indicators of what institutions can do to improve the effectiveness of their sites.
To identify the site features that have the most significant impact of potential students perception of the site, an email survey was sent to more than 100,000 college-bound high school students asking them to rate two admissions Web sites
Next, over 3,000 sites were evaluated to identify functional features present on each site. Statistical tests were then used to identify the functional features that were important to students and their relative importance.
The study examined 28 different criteria that are divided into five main categories: Prominence of an admissions office link on the institution's home page, admissions Web page design and ease of navigation, online access to admissions materials, additional admissions information, ability to contact the admissions office.
This year's research revealed two items that have become more critical to admissions Web sites and are expected by potential students who use the sites: Better navigational elements including a search function and a site map for the admissions section and admissions visit functions such as links to visitor information and a function to schedule visits through the Web site.
"From our in-depth and comprehensive research, there are indicators of what elements will become more important and that potential students will come to expect all sites to have in the near future," said Ron Morris, NRCCUA director of admissions marketing research.
"The next wave of innovation includes the availability for instant messaging with admissions counselors, virtual tours that allow 360 degree interactive points of view on campus, and live Web cams showing popular on-campus student hangouts."
For more information on the EPI study, please visit www.NRCCUA.org.