Reimagining Carleton

1. Reimagining Carleton.edu Jaye Lawrence Web Services Group October 19, 2007

2. Why does it matter?

3. For many, it’s the first (sometimes only) point of contact • >75% research colleges online • >50% of applicants at four-year institutions use online applications • For >20% of applicants, first point of contact is the admissions application

4. First impressions matter (but you’d better make it fast) • The average prospect’s visit to a college website lasts only 60 seconds • In comparison, their average session on MySpace.com is nearly 2 hours

5. So…where are we now?

6. Carleton.edu at a Glance • 300+ live sites • 9,000 pages • 30,000 images • 86,000 visits/month (77,000 external) • 1.6 million page views/month (724,000 external)

7. Carleton.edu at a Glance • Top pages* for external audiences (per month): Admissions Home 9,946 Athletics Home 9,458 Alumni Home 6,021 Information for New Students (seasonal) 4,492 Employment 4,240 Reunion (seasonal) 3,527 Information for Visitors 3,490 Alumni Directory 3,426 A to Z Guide 2,829 Admissions: Applying 2,700 Registrar’s Office: Schedule of Classes 2,509 *In average number of page views in a typical month.

9. Where are we heading?

10. Redesign Goals • Improve design, organization, and navigation • Strengthen Carleton’s identity and personality on the web • Bring focus to our web communications strategy by: • Understanding our primary audiences • Delivering key messages in an unmistakably Carleton “voice” • Placing new emphasis on research and measurability

11. Recent Steps • Creative Brief • Research with high school groups • 1st round of rough creative concepts • Research with prospective students and their parents • 2nd round of creative concepts

12. The Creative Brief • A deceptively simple document that defines: • Audience(s) • Goals • Personality • Guides all subsequent creative development

13. The Creative Brief • Audiences • Primary: Prospective Students • Secondary: Other off-campus audiences (families, alumni, community, etc.) • Tertiary: On-campus audiences

14. The Creative Brief (Home page example) • Goals • Make a positive first impression that captures Carleton’s unique qualities • Make it obvious for all audiences where they should go from the home page • Establish a visual identity that will extend throughout Carleton.edu

15. The Creative Brief • Personality(That’s the tricky part.)(And probably the most important.)

16. Personality Driven and informed by the Carleton Intellect statement:“The Carleton intellect is in perpetual motion, challenging conventional ways of thinking, asking the tough questions, and pushing for creative solutions to complex problems. It is an intellect of passionate curiosity and an ability to collaborate on issues with fresh and well-grounded perspective. It laughs, it engages, it embraces the task of learning with humility, conviction and a wink. The Carleton intellect is open to possibility, and focused on making a difference.”

17. (Which is all wonderful.)(But how do you turn it into a web site?)

18. Personality • We brainstormed hundreds of words describing Carleton • Using the Carleton Intellect Statement as our guide, we distilled them down to 5: • Dynamic • Genuine • Curious • Open • Whimsical

19. Personality • This personality will manifest itself everywhere on the redesigned web site: • Language • Tone • Color palette • Photography/graphic choices • Degree of (in)formality • Content decisions

20. But… • Creative direction wasn’t enough. • We also needed to better understand what our major audiences want from our web site.

21. High School Focus Groups • 2 classes of juniors who were actively researching colleges • Several exercises: • Terminology testing • Preferred method of contact • Most-wanted content • First reactions to college home pages (not our own)

22. Terminology • Tested what terms they would use for what we’d call Prospective Students, Admissions, Application, etc. • No big surprises (except that many can’t spell “prospective”)

23. Preferred Contact Method (When ready to get more information about a college) • Send an email to the college • Submit an “Ask A Student” form online • Phone the Admissions office • Instant message a current student • Instant message Admissions office • Going to a chat room hosted by an Admissions counselor • Posting on a college Myspace/Facebook page

24. Most Wanted Content • Pictures, pictures, and more pictures • Of the place, NOT the students • Buildings, classrooms, dorm rooms, gathering places, town/city or surrounding area • Basic facts • Where is it • Student population • Ratio of faculty to students • Information on the town/area • Climate • Price—tuition, fees, costs (often hard to find) • Majors and minors • Requirements to get in • Food • Jobs on campus • What daily life is like

25. Biggest Gripes • Big paragraphs of text; hard to read • Things are hard to find • Posed looking student pictures…smiling posed people, students studying outside, crowds in football stands, etc. • “They hide what they don’t want you to see” • Hard to find the majors & fast facts • They all sound the same

26. Reactions to College Home Pages • Happy student photos inevitably regarded as fake and posed (“don’t show me somebody studying under a tree”) • Strong response to campus photos, especially those that gave sense of surrounding area • Negative response to too many (or too confusing) navigation options • Preferred limited number of obvious buttons to larger number of text links • Huge interest in getting sense of place • Little interest in specific student stories • Great interest in everyday student life

27. Putting it all together(and putting it to the test)

28. Creative Concept Testing • 3 imaginary colleges: • Aldine • Blackstock • Cannon • 3 creative approaches: • Student profile • Campus places • Mind map • Tested with prospective students and parents visiting Carleton

29. Aldine: Jayme

30. Blackstock: Evans: None

31. Blackstock: Evans: None

32. Cannon: Mailee

33. Aldine: Naysan

34. Blackstock: Turbine: None

35. Blackstock: Turbine: None

36. Cannon: Tom

37. 1A 2A 1B 2B 1C 2C

38. Students said… • Very quirky…would follow up. • Doesn’t show much about college as a whole. • Seems like a diverse school. • Pretty much every guide book has something like this. • Not sure I want to read his story—I want to know about the school. • I’ve seen four variations on this one before. • Doesn’t give any sense of the school. • I like this one. It’s funny. Could see myself looking into this college--no cliques.

39. Parents said… • Warm and fuzzy [but I] want to see campus, sense of safety. • Alludes to a cross-cultural experience. • Similar to a large number of sites. Doesn’t stand out. • Trying to be unique, but actually common. • Probably wouldn’t pursue. • Sense of humor…I like that. Would encourage my daughter to look at. • Looks like the emphasis is on diversity.

40. Students said… • Kind of person I’d want to be around. • Student is appealing, want to find out what school is like first hand. • Not interested in the profile • I find it a little boring. • I’m looking for general info (admissions info). Campus events don’t have a bearing on my life. • Something I’ve seen before, but good.

41. Parents said… • Would like to see a picture of the school instead of students. I know that student pictures are intentionally diverse. • Friendly. I want to read Jayme’s story. • Very understated. Wouldn’t pursue. • Not impressed. Sort of flaky. Doesn’t come across as a top rated college. • It’s fun. Doesn’t give me as much of an impression of the school right away.

42. Students said… • Trying too hard to seem edgy. • Overwhelming, too much to look at. • Ooh, fun. Interesting. You jump right into campus. • It’s kind of disorienting. Don’t know where to start. • More creative, more original. • I like the idea—you can see the social gathering spots in addition to the main buildings. • More arts focused. Personal map is interesting. Would pursue. • Quirky school, not as focused on athletics and more on academics and the arts. Definitely would be interested.

43. Parents said… • Fun school. Would explore this one. • Too light, informal. Kinda dumb. • I like this. It’s not what you expect. • It’s confusing to me. So much going on that I didn’t notice the words. • Looks like it’s fun. Looks smart. • Cute. I think it would be more attractive to students than adults.

44. Students said… • I like it. Colorful, not intimidating, lots of activities. • Really creative. Fun, not too serious. Would pursue. • Would be worried that the school wasn’t up to speed technologically. Wouldn’t pursue. • It’s so busy I have to take a second look. • Would click through on a lot of these. • Gives a good impression, would pursue further. • Gives a feel for the school. Knows how to have fun but work hard.

45. Parents said… • Playful. Humor plus academics. • Says liberal (politically) to me. Too edgy for me. • Like seeing some ethnicity. • No, this is kindergarten. It might appeal to students, but not to parents. • As a parent, I understand it, but it doesn’t hit the essential purpose. • Not a fan of student pictures. The advantage of showing diversity is outweighed by the stress that’s put on it. • A little full. Cute, though. Students would like it. • A little informal. Too busy.

46. Students said… • Like it. Conveys a fun sense, international, environmental. • Natural, rural, environmentally friendly. Would consider. • Rural. Funny. Bookworms go here. • Appealing to someone who wants to get away from the city and focus on education. • Gives the impression of where it is—I like that. I like the windmill and how it points out the student connection. Humor is attractive. • Slightly boringish, but really informational. • Kind of boring. Shows environmentally conscious, into the sciences more than the arts.

47. Parents said… • Farming and agriculture. Lost interest. • Good sense of humor. Emphasizing green things—appealing. • See some whimsy, but that’s all. • Like the balloons. It’s more grabby. Stands out as different. Would pursue. • I would think this is a strong science school. Not so much arts. • Too far outside the city. • I like this one, because it is a cross between having a bit of humor, and showing progressive values.

49. Students said… • Would be interesting to go to. Place that balances work and play. • Friendly, not boring. • Makes me want to see the campus. • Shows more individuality. Gives a feel about what you might be doing, while feeling more professional. • More inclined to pursue this one. • Would definitely look further into school. • Definitely interesting. Working hard but laid back. • Gives you the feeling of humor and understands the life of students. Would pursue definitely.

50. Parents said… • Really like it. Plays with the tradition of showing ivy-covered buildings. • More innovative and interesting. • Gets the uniqueness of the school without being a dilution of the purpose of the college. • The popups are insider knowledge, which is distracting. • School with some character, kids with all sorts of backgrounds. • More warmth than you would typically expect. • Seems academically focused…Messages surprise you. Maybe they have fun at this campus, too.