University of New England

UNE's website rated among top in the nation
 
BIDDEFORD, ME - The University of New England’s website, www.une.edu, was recognized by the National Research Center for College & University Admissions (NRCCUA) as the fourth-most highly rated in the country by the NRCCUA Ninth Annual Enrollment Power Index® (EPI), an analysis of the admissions websites of more than 3,000 post-secondary institutions.

The study graded the sites for each institution on a 100-point scale. University of New England was one of only 140 institutions that received an "A" out of the total 3,087 graded.
 
The Survey
The NRCCUA is the leading organization connecting young people and their families with colleges and universities around the country. Its study rates how well the functionality and design of college and university websites provide information to potential students to take them from prospect to applicant.
 
In its own press release, the NRCCUA's president mentioned that overall, approval ratings of college and university websites have continued to decline over the last several years, indicating a level of dissatisfaction among today’s students; in order to satisfy prospective students and encourage them to apply, college and university admissions offices need to continue updating and enhancing their websites to keep them dynamic.

The NRCCUA's director of admissions marketing research added that a growing number of institutions are starting to incorporate text message reminders, current student blogs and interactive chat features into their admissions procedures, many of which the University of New England is currently doing.
 
UNE's Website
"UNE’s Communications and Admissions offices, as well as untold faculty and staff members, and even students, have put tremendous effort into creating a current and dynamic website as well as helping us test the site to ensure that it remains easy to use," said Danielle Vayenas, director of communications at University of New England. “We are proud to be recognized among the top 10 sites in the nation.”
 
To identify the admissions website features that have the most significant impact on potential students’ perception of the site, an email survey was sent to more than 100,000 college-bound high school students asking them to rate the sites. Next, more than 3,000 sites were evaluated to identify functional features present on each site. Statistical tests were then used to identify the functional features that were important to students and their relative importance.

(Press release posted Oct. 23, 2007)