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July 31, 2006 -- The University of Virginia has launched a new Web site for the Office of Undergraduate Admission designed to provide information tailored to the needs of various audiences.
The new site incorporates a number of new features, including Flash slide shows that provide tours of the Grounds as well as the Charlottesville area and plus profiles of current students and the ability to interact with students through the "Hoo's Got A Question" form. Among the most significant differences to the site is the ability of visitors to identify their status and access content that is specifically for them.
For instance, high school seniors will find an application checklist with deadlines and admissions requirements while juniors and other underclassmen are directed to an article on the "ABCs of the College Search and Application Process." Other sections of the site are targeted for parents, high school guidance counselors, minority students, international students, and transfer students. Spanish-speaking parents are offered a version of the site in Spanish.
“The prospective
student’s experience of an unseen college has moved
from paper brochures to viewing that content online,” explained
Nancy Tramontin, U.Va.'s director of Web Communications, who oversaw
this ground-up redesign of the Web site, after a series
of minor upgrades over the past five years.
For a growing percentage of today’s Internet-savvy
prospective students, the Web site is the first point of
contact with U.Va., so “we thought it was important
to have an enhanced Web site,” said Greg Roberts,
associate dean of admission. The previous version of the
Admission Office site received more than 337,000 hits during
the first six months of 2006.
“We had always received
positive feedback about the previous site, but we wanted
to make this site more interactive, especially for those
students who might not be able to visit grounds, so they
can get a good feel for the University,” said Roberts.
In addition, Roberts pointed to a goal of highlighting the University's innovative AccessUVA financial aid program. "We wanted students from throughout the state and country from lower socio-economic backgrounds to have easy access to that information, particularly since such students are less likely to be able to visit the campus because of the cost of travel," Roberts said.
According to John A. Blackburn, dean of undergraduate admission, the overarching goals of the site is to be "helpful, interactive, realistic and honest."
"We want to give a clear picture of what
it’s like to be a student here,” Blackburn said, pointing especially to the interactivity available by putting prospective students in contact with current students who
can answer questions about the U.Va. experience.
Go to the Undergraduate Admission Web site.
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