Marian University: Values Web Page

The opportunity: create a dedicated web page that would be interactive and highlight the value of a Marian education.

The goal: increase time on website and user experience.

Initiative overview: based on a consultant’s recommendation, the Office of University Relations was charged with creating a stand-alone web page that would be attractive, yet informative, to prospective traditional students.

Timeline Initiative Involved 11/2014 Initial meeting to review all recommendations from

consultant and create measurable goals and action items. VPEM, Dean of Undergraduate Admission, Dir of OUR

12/2014 Prioritized recommendations based on need and resources. Met with OUR staff to review recommendations and begin planning and brainstorming ideas for implementation.

VPEM, Dean of Undergraduate Admission, Dir of OUR OUR staff

2/2015 Contacted external vendor (WSOL) for assistance in building values web page.

Dir of OUR

4/2015 Met to brainstorm possible alumni for video interviews. Began writing content and mapping out page design.

Dir of OUR, Dir of Alumni Relations OUR staff

5/2015-9/2015

Worked with WSOL on page design and content. Completed UAT and training for updating website. Scheduled and filmed 10 alumni videos. Completed 8/10 prior to departure.

Dir of OUR OUR GA, Dir of OUR

Recommendation from Consultant – Values Page All recommendations were aligned with Marian’s strategic plan in order to give higher precedence to each initiative.

Planning and Research Reviewed recommendation with staff and asked for additional research and ideas regarding the content of the page, in addition to design.

From different ideas and research the initial design of the new web page was drafted:

Value Proposition: Highlight 4-5 academic programs

OUR Market Marian's value proposition by highlighting the four-five academic programs that are in high market demand. This is done via web site (see recommendation #1).Timeline: August 2015

Time spent on web page(s) 5% increase Objective D.3Agree

Agree w/mods

Disagree

Design implementation Writing

Began with writing and creating content that was short and quippy for the page to attract prospective students – focused on high school aged prospects.

Videos

Used and incorporated existing videos created for Marian; one highlights traditional students and the other adult and graduate students.

Created new videos for web page: Outcomes videos of alumni filmed on location where they worked (10) Led by Graduate Assistant for the Office of University Relations

A day in the life of a Marian student Video completed but not published Led by Senior Graphic Design Intern for the Office of University Relations

Values Page

Values Page Outcome The values page was to launch in spring of 2015, however, changes in direction and resource challenges delayed the launch. An additional request to refresh the entire Marian website came after reviewing costs and feasibility of an entire website re-design. Since the CMS for Marian’s site is built with templates, the change to each template was the most cost effective.

The refreshed site and values page is scheduled to launch in November 2015.