Geoff Campbell at Mount Allison University: 2012-01-22

January 25, 2012

January 23, 2012

Mount Allison University plans website redesign

As you may know, the University is undertaking a redesign of mta.ca. I'm on the Web Advisory Group which is providing input to the project. I talked to the Tony Frost, my boss and contact person for the project for more information. It's a vitally important project for the school and I'm excited to offer whatever helpful input I can.

I'll let you know more as the project progresses.

From The Argosy:

If everything goes as planned, Mount Allison will have a brand new website this summer. The website redesign comes at the heels of the now-complete branding project and will easily incorporate the school’s new visual identity.The project, a joint effort between Marketing and Communications and Computing services, will involve contracting a web design firm to create a website created with input from students, faculty, staff, and alumni. The website has become an important communication tool for new students and it is important the site meet the expectations of a range of audiences, not least of which is perspective students. Marc-Alexandre Chartrand, a fourth year international relations student said that when he was considering coming to Mt. A, the website was the only outlet he had to find out more about the school. He said he found it difficult to navigate and was concerned that the current graphics and layout of the website would not impress current students looking at it. Others were more concerned about navigability and ease of use. Geoff Hutchinson noted “It needs to be easy to find what you’re looking for. It needs to be streamlined. It needs to be intuitive.” Current students are not alone. According to the 2011 E-Expectations Report by Noel- Levitz, one in five students said they removed a school from consideration because of a bad experience on an institution’s website. The administration, for its part is taking online communication seriously. In his community-wide e-mail in December, President Campbell seemed in agree in his e-mail, “As many in our community appreciate, a university’s web site is integral to the way it communicates internally and externally, to making a good first impression, to strengthening our reputation... Each year our community and audiences expect more from our web site, and we must be able to deliver on those expectations if we are to achieve our mission.” Julie Stephenson, VP Communication for the SAC thought it was a step in the right direction. “The website redesign project shows Mt. A is interested in developing their online presence and the services they can provide to students.” Tony Frost, Director of Marketing and Communications noted that the new website is needed for a number of reasons, to make needed upgrades, to integrate the new brand elements, and the ability to publish content on the website more easily. He said...