Asbury Seminary

Each item in their main menu becomes a multicolumn dropdown list of links when hovered over.

Boston University

As you hover over any item in the main menu the entire page slides down exposing their entire sub menu structure.

Connecticut State University System

Mousing over any of the main menu items produces a fly out that is organized under subheadings and often includes images.

Forsyth Tech

These menus include both a list of links on the left and a featured item to the right.

Grand Valley State University

Each menu item, when clicked,  display an expanded menu that has been custom designed for the content it displays. The example below is their quicklinks which are each identified with a unique icon.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology

By hovering over each item in the menu you display a multicolumn listing of links.

Have you come across any other examples? Share them in the comments.

This week started out pretty rough. University of Hawaii – Manoa didn’t shine in any area. There was a lot on the site and I am sure at one time it was ahead of its time but now visitors demand more. The homepage right column looks like it became a dumping around for things that “need to be on the homepage” but there really is no strategic spot for them. Beyond that the program information was published in a powerpoint document, something that shouldn’t be done unless actually giving a presentation.

Florida Atlantic University didn’t do any better. The mega menu on the homepage forces the visitor to pick the exact page they need instead of giving them general information with related information. In addition it was almost impossible to find a list of degree programs, they automatically separate it out by department. Most prospective students don’t know how universities function let alone know what department a program is in.

Lastly, Eastern Kentucky University knocked it out of park with their recent redesign. The texture and colors used on the site make the page feel like a destination instead of just another web page. The images used were vibrant and their colors integrated well into the overall design. Not all of their departments have adopted the new template yet but the ones that did are easy to navigate and have plenty of information about each program.

If you’re interested in having your university (or one of your competitors) reviewed publicly or privately feel free to submit your site. Over half of the sites reviewed on EDU Checkup are by request.

This Week’s Reviews

Keep up up with @educheckup on twitter and RSS for more site updated in the coming weeks. Or if you prefer, an iTunes feed is available so you can get new episodes automatically.

This week was back to a normal schedule of three sites. The first, Jackson Community College did the worst. They tried their hardest to use a single template throughout the whole site and they did it but at the cost of uniqueness of each area. I found while navigating through the site I would forget what department or area I was in because they all looked the same. It didn’t help that they used the same group of photos throughout the entire site. They did do pretty good on their code though and that scored them some extra points.

The second, Presbyterian College did better. The design was a little more flexible but still used the same layout throughout the site. It was nice not to feel like I was being bounced around from department to department. They had a little too much marketing copy than I am comfortable with which took away from the usability of the site. Overall the quality of information was much better and they got an A for that. Code on the other hand fared the worst of the three sites but a few minor changes could raise its score significantly.

Lastly, Carnegie Mellon University in Qatar did the best of the three. The design was very clean and to the point. White background and simple header and menu did their jobs and got out of the way. Finding information was a breeze and the imagery on the site was very relevant and clear. One thing I found weird was the alternating paragraph styles, every page had these styles and they were distracting. The code was A quality and I don’t have anything more to say about it.

If you’re interested in having your university (or one of your competitors) reviewed publicly or privately feel free to submit your site. Over half of the sites reviewed on EDU Checkup are by request.

This Week’s Reviews

Keep up up with @educheckup on twitter and RSS for more site updated in the coming weeks. Or if you prefer, an iTunes feed is available so you can get new episodes automatically.

So to say yesterday was hectic would be an understatement. While we weren’t hit with a major natural disaster here, we did have some severe weather which made it difficult to complete some of the things that need to be done for the full launch of the eduStyle Awards nominations. So let me give you an update of where we are at and how the process looks this year.

Pre-qualifying phase

The eduStyle Awards, by design, require involvement from the community. While that has made for diversity in the sites nominated it has also lead to an administrative nightmare to manage. Last year we had over 2000 nominations to filter through. This year we have changed the process slightly to minimize the load for us. The changes still reflect the will of the community, but should simplify the nomination process and limit the load on us in building a list of nominees. So here is the first major change, sites are pre-qualified to be included in the nomination phase. Here is what your site needed to make it through the pre-qualification:

1. To have been submitted between April 30th 2009 and March 30th 2010 AND:
   1. have either a minimum of 3 “my style” votes after subtracting the “not my style” votes OR
   2. if they don’t have 3 votes to  have been submitted after February 15th 2010 OR
   3. have been selected as a Noteworthy site

To have 3 my style votes is an indication that to some level the community likes the site. Sites submitted before February 15th have had lots of time for the community to voice their opinion. We feel that we have been generous with these requirements. What this means for us is that instead of over 1000 qualified sites there are approximately 450 of the best sites in higher-ed. This should also make it easier for the community to find and nominated sites as we have been able to put together a page listing the qualified sites.

*Update: We’re reasonable people. If you have a concern about your site not being included in this year’s awards, please contact us and we’ll try to accommodate.

Special Cases

Best Higher-Ed Blog Award & Best Higher-Ed Blog Award – Rookie of the Year

Because these awards are for sites that are not necessarily maintained by a college or university, the process is slightly different. To nominate a blog for either of these awards please visit the Best Higher-Ed Blog Nomination Page. To qualify for the rookie of the year award the blog must have started in the last 2 years (between April 15, 2008 and now).

Best Mobile Site & Best Email Campaign or Newsletter

We’re still working to get these into the gallery, watch for them in the next few days.

Sites that are not yet approved

We’re also working to get these added to the gallery and when approved they will immediately make it into the eligible site listing page. If you have submitted one of these sites, watch for an email from us to let you know it has been approved.

Things have started to roll for the 3rd Annual eduStyle Higher-Ed Web Awards. In order to qualify for this year’s awards you’ll need to submit your site by March 30th. This year there are a few notable additions which have required us to make some changes to our submission form. We have added categories for Best Email Newsletter/Campaign and Best Mobile Site. You’ll see the new categories available on the eduStyle submission form. Make sure you select the right one, we get literally hundreds of new site submission in the weeks leading up to the awards and we don’t want to miss yours. In order to submit an email newsletter/campaign, you’ll need a web version of it available to submit. To submit a mobile site you’ll need to upload a screenshot of the site (how to take a screenshot on an iPhone/iPod Touch or Android Phone).

Nominations being April 15th. The details of that process will be posted then.

If you are company, please consider helping us by sponsoring the awards. There are real time & expenses involved in doing the awards and your support can help us continue this important annual event and keep it as open as possible. It is also a great opportunity to show your support for the community of 4200 higher-ed web professionals represented by eduStyle. There a limited number of slots available.

Now go submit your favorite higher-ed sites.

Just a few things to say about this week’s round of sites. They were overall pretty good, nothing earth shattering but at the same time they didn’t fall flat on their faces. Elon University had a super clean interface and a pretty good amount of information about their programs. They used their homepage as a pure marketing tool and that’s great to see. Too many institutions get bogged down by internal links and messaging being presented to prospective students.

Southern Illinois University Carbondale had the best code quality of the three but I ran into some major user interface and information challenges. Code alone is not going to bring in prospective students, focus on the information then visuals and code should supporting the two along the whole process.

The last site Durham College is actually a site I reviewed on the very first episode of EDU Checkup over a year and a half ago. They have since redesigned completely and the score has risen dramatically!  The visuals were a little shaky at times but the amount of information they supplied for each program was amazing! They were the first I’ve seen that included current student testimonials with each program description. Very impressive.

If you’re interested in having your university (or one of your competitors) reviewed publicly or privately feel free to submit your site. Over half of the sites reviewed on EDU Checkup are by request.

This Week’s Reviews

Keep up up with @educheckup on twitter and RSS for more site updated in the coming weeks. Or if you prefer, an iTunes feed is available so you can get new episodes automatically.

What a great week, the first site Saint Michael’s College really felt dated. The site was designed for an 800px wide screen which makes it feel constricted. There is some movement on the homepage right as the page loads which is really distracting.

The second site University of Notre Dame – College of Arts and Letters really hit it out of the park, almost a perfect score. The design was straight forward, everything had it’s place and is easy to scan. They were the first site I have seen that included an iPhone/iPod icon in addition to a mobile style sheet dedicated to a larger smart phone screen.

The last site, Northwestern College needs some real help removing their global navigation from the left column of every page. It’s so prominent it looks like it’s the navigation for that actual page. When on a program page there ends up being four menu’s on the page, this is very confusing to the user. They did do a good a good job with the designs of the four main promotions on their homepage which was nice to see.

If you’re interested in having your university (or one of your competitors) reviewed publicly or privately feel free to submit your site. Over half of the sites reviewed on EDU Checkup are by request.

This Week’s Reviews

Keep up up with @educheckup on twitter and RSS for more site updated in the coming weeks. Or if you prefer, an iTunes feed is available so you can get new episodes automatically.

This week’s sites were all rated high overall. The first, Southwest Minnesota State University noteworthy this month did really well. The use of color, spacing focusing on the calls to action really drive the success of this site.

The second, Saginaw Valley State University got right to the point, they remove all the unnecessary links on their homepage to focus on their primary audience. They do a great job pulling in photos of students, smiling faces and different colors. The path to information was quick and painless.

Lastly, Carl Sandburg College did something I have never seen before. They integrate the application process into every page. The signup link allows a prospective student to give up information about themselves. Even if they don’t fill out the application this is critical data for research and promotion.

If you’re interested in having your university (or one of your competitors) reviewed publicly or privately feel free to submit your site. Over half of the sites reviewed on EDU Checkup are by request.

This Week’s Reviews

Keep up up with @educheckup on twitter and RSS for more site updated in the coming weeks. Or if you prefer, an iTunes feed is available so you can get new episodes automatically.

It was a week of firsts. LaGuardia Community College had by far the brightest colors I have seen on an institution’s Web site. The site looked like a teacher’s store, especially with the apple in the top right corner. Beyond the graphics the larger problem was finding program information, it was mildly difficult, but just a few tweaks can make a world of difference. And not to mention there was no consistency of voice on the menu items. The code of the site was at the same level as the visuals and information, it didn’t fail completely but didn’t knock it out of the park.

Scripps College deserves the A it received. The visuals overall are clean and they actually used the right column on their homepage to push the new and events, something I have not seen before. These sections are constantly updating and it is nice to see them at a glance without having to scroll. Finding program information is not a problem at all and their code is up to industry standards. Overall Scripps has a great web presence.

Lastly, Monash University was plagued with problems from the start. The 100% width was a huge distraction and eye soar. It made the pages hard to scan and really disconnected related information. As monitors get larger over time it will make variable width sites harder to use. But worse than the design finding program information was almost impossible. I was led in a loop a few times before finding program requirements. Luckily someone is looking out for the code, it scored pretty high and raised Monash’s overall score to a D-.

If you’re interested in having your university (or one of your competitors) reviewed publicly or privately feel free to submit your site. Over half of the sites reviewed on EDU Checkup are by request.

This Week’s Reviews

Keep up up with @educheckup on twitter and RSS for more site updated in the coming weeks. Or if you prefer, an iTunes feed is available so you can get new episodes automatically.

Three sites this week, starting out pretty good was Royal Roads University. The site had an amazing use of white space and positioning. Everything had it’s place and it was easy to scan. But diving deeper the right and left columns stay static no matter which page you are on. This is great to get information on each page but takes precious real estate away from related information.

Free-Hardeman University almost hit it out of the park. The visuals and use of photography was awesome but they had a bit of an issue with lack of information for each major. Getting to each major was intuitive but then learning about them left something to be desired. Their code though was one of the few A’s, and just a few changes and it could be an A+.

Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia had more problems than I could count. For starters the homepage had announcements for current students that took prominence over prospective student areas. The second was the huge menu, six levels deep! Unfortunately the information and code didn’t get any better. I am thinking a complete overhaul is what this site needs.

If you’re interested in having your university (or one of your competitors) reviewed publicly or privately feel free to submit your site. Over half of the sites reviewed on EDU Checkup are by request.

This Week’s Reviews

Keep up up with @educheckup on twitter and RSS for more site updated in the coming weeks. Or if you prefer, an iTunes feed is available so you can get new episodes automatically.