The University of South Florida Dave Roberts Rebekah Rhodes Melissa Wolfman Amy Vaughan

Philosophy Statement The philosophy statement for the Student Life Department at Western Idaho College, guided by the principles of the institutional mission statement, offers an attractive, user friendly, interactive service that prospective and current students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members refer to for current information.

Introduction Shaw (2002) suggests that the mission of the institution’s website should reflect the mission of the institution. The mission statement of Western Idaho College (WIC) provided direction in creating the Student Life’s departmental website philosophy statement. To guide the Vice- President of Student Affairs at WIC, the following critiques and recommendations, are being offered by this committee as a way to fulfill the newly established philosophy statement.

WIC Student Life Home Page Critiques Unwelcoming, not visually appealing. (i.e. lack of color and graphics) Unnecessary information (i.e. National Headlines) Negative language (i.e. We are up on the web, finally. Though we are a small college, we are happy to be able to serve our student needs.) Lack of adequate contact information. Page design or layout is not user friendly throughout the website. Recommendations Add an array of vibrant colors, backgrounds, graphics/photos and include visually appealing fonts Include information about upcoming campus events from various Student Life departments. Text should reflect the enthusiasm o the department and institution. Provide a link to campus directory, as well as a consistent logo including the department contact information. “Layout should be consistent throughout the site, ensuring predictability” (Landsberger, 2002, p. 65). Examples of Quality Student Affairs Home Pages

Mission Statement Critique Mission is not specific to school or department. The mission statement is long, wordy and detailed. There is an inconsistency between link and mission title. (i.e. Mission and program versus Our Mission) Recommendations The department’s mission statement should reflect the values and beliefs of the institution, while clearly stating the goals and objectives of the Student Affairs department. The mission statement of the department should be clear and concise. Another example of the need for consistency and clear language Example of Quality Mission Statements

Policies and Procedures Critiques Non-user friendly format. (i.e. Policy titles are listed without links) Intended audience not specified Language does not promote student development. (i.e.college consistently referred to as institute) Sanctions appear to be punitive. Recommendations Link to policies or put student handbook online using Adobe format. Clarify language so that policies and procedures are consistently directed towards students. Modify language to be consistent with mission statement. WIC should ensure that sanctions reflect the colleges’ commitment to academics. Examples of Quality Policies and Procedures

Residence Life Critiques Inconsistency in language (i.e. Residence Life versus Residential Life) Lack of editing (i.e. underconstruction is misspelled) Vague timeline (Spring of 2003) Lack of contact information. Does construction refer to the website or the actual Residence Halls? Multiple links (Residence Information and Residence Life) lead to the same page. Recommendations Language should be clear and concise. Proper editing required A specific date should be provided, and the department should be held accountable to that date. Residence Life should include a directory link or contact information until site is functioning properly. Be specific in descriptions of construction. Maintain layout design. Examples of Quality Residence Life Web Pages

Orientation Critiques An inadequate amount of information to justify having a link. Counseling and Advising is mentioned, but does not have a link. Detailed contact information is missing. Recommendations The department should consider placing the page under construction, and review the purpose of the page. Counseling and Advising should have a separate page. Supply contact information. Examples of Quality Orientation Pages /index.htm /index.htm

Athletics Critiques Site only lists basketball schedule. No specified arena or directions. There are no details about the athletics program. (i.e. directors, classes, recruiting) No photographs or statistics. Scrolling message is too small and moves too quickly for the viewer to read. The message shows a lack of support for the Board of Trustees (i.e. negative message and sarcasm through “refusal... to change name...we still hold athletic events”). Recommendations Include all teams, perhaps offer links to each team. Offer information regarding arena admission fees and directions to venues. Create an athletics home page including contact information, links to all teams and other relevant information. Insert promotional material from games and brochures. The institution website should show support for the Board of Trustees; opinions should be excluded. The scrolling message should not be biased. Examples of Quality Athletics Pages

Conclusion After careful review, it has been determined that the website for Western Idaho College’s (WIC) Student Life Department does not properly reflect the newly created philosophy statement. Therefore, this committee suggests that a focus group is convened to review the recommendations offered, reference the attached websites for input, and reconstruct the overall design, layout and appearance of the student life website.

References Lansberger, J. (2002). Accessibility: How easy, or even possible... Tech Trends, 46 (5), Shaw, T. (2002). The school web site: A servant to many masters. Multimedia Schools, 9 (5),