NRCCUA NEWS!
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 9/12/2006

10/30/2006

Site Among the Best At Meeting Demands and Expectations of Potential Students

Valley City State University (VCSU) announced today the admissions features on its website were recognized as among the most highly rated in the country by the National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA) 8th Annual Enrollment Power Index® (EPI), an analysis of the admissions websites of more than 3,000 post-secondary institutions.

"We are proud to have our admissions website recognized by NRCCUA as one of the leading sites in the nation," said Dr. Ellen Chaffee, President of VCSU. "We know that potential students look to admissions sites to provide critical information and we have made strides to ensure our site meets their needs and they can learn about what we have to offer."

Within the last year, VCSU has added a number of new features to assist students and families in their transition to college, including a cost calculator, more detailed explanations of the application process for different types of students, as well as simple navigations to online forms that make requesting information, signing up for campus visits, or applying for admission easy. Navigation to other university sites that are important to prospective students, such as academics, housing and financial aid are very intuitive.

The research-based study rates how well the functionality and design of college and university admissions websites provide information to potential students and move them from prospect to applicant. The study graded the sites for each institution on a 100-point scale. VCSU was one of only 157 institutions that received an A.

"We congratulate VCSU for having one of the top admissions related websites," said Don Munce, President of NRCCUA. "Prospective college students are Internet-savvy, and they have come to expect the admissions sections of university websites to provide critical information to help them make decisions. As Valley City State has recognized, a quality website can now be the difference between a lost prospect and a new student."

The study examined 34 different criteria that were divided into five main categories.

1. Prominence of an admissions office link on the institution’s home page (14.92 possible points).
2. Admissions Web page design and ease of navigation (20.50 possible points).
3. Online access to admissions materials (17.92 possible points).
4. Additional admissions information (33.03 possible points).
5. Ability to contact the admissions office (13.61 possible points).

To identify the admissions website features that have the most significant impact on potential students' perception of the site, an e-mail survey was sent to over 100,000 college-bound high school students asking them to rate 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 VCSU web site is available at http://www.vcsu.edu. Additional information on the EPI study is available at www.nrccua.org/epireport.

Valley City State University (VCSU) prepares people for life through visionary leadership and exemplary practices in teaching, learning and service. VCSU is nationally acclaimed for attracting and retaining talented individuals who advance quality learning opportunities and economic growth through technology and innovation.