Bob Johnson's Blog on Higher Education Marketing

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Your Higher Education Marketing Link of the Week... University of Nebraska

By Bob on April 12, 2013 3:54 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Scan 9 Academic Program Areas in 5 Seconds on the Home Page

Nearly every college and university website has a navigation link to "Academics" at the top of the home page. From that point you may or may not be able to see the academic programs offered in one link or in a drop down menu.

The University of Nebraska eliminates the need to click or roll over anything to see 9 major academic areas in a single scan of the home page that easily passes the 5-second rule.

See the area that interests you? A single click takes you direct to either the undergraduate or graduate majors offered. Move on from there and explore your favorite(s).

Learning what academic programs are offered is a top task for most future students looking for the school that's best for them. Few home pages make that task as easy to do as the one you'll see when you visit the University of Nebraska home page.

234 Websites at the Original Link of the Week Page

P.S. If you've been visiting you know that my website editing connection hasn't been working for a while now. To scroll the 234 Link of the Week selection up until February 15 visit the original Link of the Week page. 







Your Higher Education Marketing Link of the Week... Capella University

By Bob on April 7, 2013 5:42 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Marketing Power on the Home Page... Advance Your Career

Nearly 10 years ago the Customer Carewords partnership did a survey of students looking to attend an MBA program at an elite university... the top task those students wanted to complete was leaning how that MBA program could help them advance their careers.

Since that research I've never seen anything to suggest that "advance your career" is not a primary motivation for most adult students returning for a degree. Many universities would agree but I've never seen one use that knowledge in as striking a fashion as Capella University... the home page opens with a very large "Advance Your Career" banner that's simply impossible to miss. 

Advance Your Career + Areas to Study + Cost Calculator

When your eyes do roam from the "Advance Your Career" heading you'll see large links to 5 primary areas of study. That's another top task for potential students.

And while it isn't as prominent, if you follow the link to Tuition and Financial Aid you'll see a link to a net cost calculator. As a top task, learning about cost is higher now than it has ever been before.

For a home page with an usually strong focus on student recruitment marketing, visit the Capella University example.

New Webinar on Adult Student Recruitment

P.S. Join me June 25 for a webinar on "Improving Your Website to Increase Adult-Student Enrollment." Content and registration at the Academic Impressions website.

P.P.S. If you've been visiting, you already know that my web editing connection broke back in March. We expect to have everything back to working order this week. To scroll the complete list of 234 Link of the Week selections up to February 15, visit the original Link of the Week page.

Your Higher Education Marketing Link of the Week... Aarhus University

By Bob on March 24, 2013 3:36 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
A Marketing Plus: Aarhus University Recruits International Students in 9 Languages

No matter how well a potential international student (or their parents) may know the language of the possible host country, wading through that language on a typical higher education website is not always easy. That's why it makes great good sense to provide initial information in the language of the countries from which you hope to enroll students. Not many universities take the time to do that. 

Aarhus University sets an unusually strong example in two ways.

First, information is presented in these 9 languages:
  • English
  • Chinese
  • Hindi
  • German
  • Spanish
  • Indonesian
  • Russian
  • Portuguese
  • French
Second, the language is used not only on the "Welcome" page but also on four others:
  • Why choose Aarhus University?
  • Living in Denmark
  • Structure
  • Career options
For an example of how to increase the marketing strength of your international student recruitment website, start at the "AU in 9 Languages" page at Aarhus University.

How to make this stronger? The link to this page is immediately visible only to students interested in Master's degree programs. Add the same link to pages introducing bachelor and Ph.D. programs.

P.S. If you've been visiting, you already know this: my web editing connection remains broken and we're still working on a fix. To scroll the complete list of 234 Link of the Week selections up to February 15, visit the original Link of the Week page.

Your Higher Education Marketing Link of the Week... Drew University

By Bob on March 17, 2013 5:44 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Success After Graduation... A Most Unusual Presentation

Everyone wants to know... if I (or my child) graduate from your university, can I expect to have a successful career? That's an especially important question for liberal arts colleges and universities where the connection between learning and career success isn't always immediate.

Drew University presents an unusually designed mix of facts and stories to bolster confidence in the value of a Drew degree. It takes a little scrolling but visitors quickly come upon:

  • The usual number for people employed a year after graduation (95%) and another for unemployed (3.5%). 
  • A list of 21 employers and 25 professional and graduate schools.
  • My favorite: 9 easy-to-scan image labels that lead to brief student stories that quickly show the diversity of career possibilities: Building Wealth, Advancing Medicine, Rescuing Schools, Pharmacist in Training, Launching New Bands, Military Intelligence, Reinventing Theatre, In the Beauty Biz, and Thailand First.
  • 7 profiles of longer term graduates spread over 1975, 1985, 1987, 1989, 2010, and 2011.
  • And right at the bottom of the page, highly visible links to "Visit Campus" or "Apply Now" or "Contact Us."
For an engaging presentation of what people have done with a Drew University degree, visit the When You Graduate page.

P.S. If you've been visiting, you already know this: my web editing connection remains broken and we're still working on a fix. To scroll the complete list of 234 Link of the Week selections up to February 15, visit the original Link of the Week page.


Your Higher Education Marketing Link of the Week... Eastern Washington University

By Bob on March 10, 2013 5:14 PM | No Comments | No TrackBacks
Competitive Tuition Costs... A Rare Example from Eastern Washington University

If you have a cost advantage over other public universities in your state, why not highlight that advantage on your website? Makes marketing sense and yet you don't see that happening very often in higher education, even in these times of increasing price sensitivity.

Eastern Washington is one of the rare examples of a university that does not hold back from making sure people know that the cost of an EWU bachelor's degree is less than the cost at other Washington universities. Included in a comparison chart that you can't miss when the "Costs and Fees" page opens:

  • In-state Tuition and Fees
  • Books
  • Room & Board
  • Total Cost
  • Four-Year Savings When You Choose EWU
Depending on the competition, annual savings can range from just $4,572 to over $20,000 at four other state universities.

For an unusual example of cost comparison in higher education, visit the Eastern Washington University "Costs and Fees" page.

Bob Johnson

P.S. Yes, my website content editor is still broken so the Link of the Week is on the blog for a second week. Every expectation that we'll have a new editor in place this week.
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