NRCCUA NEWS!

STUDY RATES COLLEGE AND UNIVERSITY ADMISSION WEBSITES

THE BEST SITES AT HELPING YOUNG PEOPLE AND SECURING STUDENTS

1. Capital University
2. Georgia Southwestern State University
3. Indiana-Purdue University Fort Wayne
4. James Madison University
5. Le Tourneau University
6. Lewis University
7. Salem College
8. Transylvania University
9. Trinity Christian College
10. University of New Orleans

“Prospective college students are very Internet-savvy, and they have come to expect the admissions sections of university websites 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 website can now be the difference between a lost prospect and a new student.”

Only 130 institutions received an A, 573 a B, 1363 a C, 620 a D, and 354 an F. No sites scored in the 90s on the 100-point scale, only a few scored in the 80s, and more than half earned scores in the 60s or 70s. Scores for the top 10 schools ranged from 88 to 86.

The highest rated school in the North region was Westminster Choir College of Rider, Capital University in the Midwest, Transylvania University in the South, and Le Tourneau University was the highest rated in the West. Lewis University was the top rated Catholic institution. (A full breakdown of the top ten institutions in these and other categories is available following this release.)

“While institutions now know their websites serve critical admissions functions, most don’t meet the full array of standards of what prospective students need,” said Munce. “Even the best sites fall short from meeting students’ requirements.”

EPI measures the ability of a college or university admissions website 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 websites 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.

1. Prominence of an admissions office link on the institution’s home page (10.35 possible points).

2. Admissions web page design and ease of navigation (28.01 possible points).

3. Online access to admissions materials (14.4 possible points).

4. Additional admissions information (36.39 possible points).

5. Ability to contact the admissions office (10.85 possible points).

Trends on Features

Since the technology for admissions websites is constantly advancing and changing, so are the expectations of potential students on the type of information available to them. The EPI survey takes this into account as the research criteria are updated on a yearly basis to reflect changes in technology and the student’s expectations. Certain features, such as the ability to make online payments, have become standard but not universal and now carry less weight in the rating system.

This year’s research revealed two items that have become more critical to admissions websites and are expected by potential students who use the sites.

1. Better navigational elements including a search function and a site map for the admissions section.

2. Admissions visit functions such as links to visitor information and a function to schedule visits through the website.

“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.”

“The EPI research reveals what students expect college and university admissions websites to offer”, said Munce. “Hopefully it will help institutions design sites to help meet potential students’ expectations and fulfill their information needs.”

For more information on the EPI study, please visit www.NRCCUA.org.

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NRCCUA - The National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA) is a non-profit education research organization based in Lee’s Summit, Mo. For over 33 years, NRCCUA has conducted the largest nationwide survey of high school students, which serves as a communications link between college-bound high school students and public and private colleges and universities. For more information, visit www.nrccua.org.