Post 2: You Broke it!

Well, once upon a time, N.C. State had a horrible website. I mean to the point that if you were a prospective student finding out information regarding academic programs, tuition fees, financial aid, etc. was a full day project. The site was disorganized, unattractive, and poorly constructed. It lacked a hierarchical structure; important information was lost to frivolous and unnecessary filler comments, and the user was forced to think on every page questioning if something was a link or if the title he selected would take him to the information he wanted to know.

The overall online visual presentation was not impressive and really impacted me in a negative way. If it was going to be that difficult to collect what should have been easily accessible and readily available information, I could not imagine how disorganized the institution was internally. To me, their first impression was one of disorganization and chaos, and it certainly impacted my overall opinion of the school, and the type of education I could have expected to receive. The confusion that ensued from their website made me question how serious they were about attracting the right caliber students or any students at all for that matter (which is unfortunate as N.C. State does have a reputation of being a good school). Their donor and athletic links were easy enough to find, but anything regarding academics was a challenge. It affected me enough to decline their acceptance offer.

In all fairness, as I am not trying to disrespect the school, they have recently updated their website and given it a much cleaner and more professional look and feel. I think their present online presence would not only attract but instill confidence in prospective students that they were an established and credible institution.