This being my favorite University, I take a great deal of pride when
speaking of or referring to RU. One exception to that may be the RU home
page. For three consistent years, the RU site has been reflective of a
low-tech university and a low effort to push academia into the next century.
Radford University is different from most schools in that we have not two
or three colors, but the entire palette of the Highlander plaid. That
color scheme is nowhere to be found on this page. The use of consistency
with the mountain range on all RU official sites is a neat idea. Why,
though, is the quality higher on all other sites, but grainy on the main
page? The front page should be the one to grab attention. It should be
crisp, sharp, and to-the-point.
The buttons tell you nothing about what you will find if you click on
them. How many of us have ever had a question about RU, and looked to
the site for information? How many of those questions went unanswered
because the links were so vague, you had no idea where to turn to next?
It happens all the time for me, and I've been browsing the web since
1990. That's 8 years of web experience going for me, and I can't even
find out what time Dalton is open on the weekends.
RU Web Administrator, Rick Rogers, did an effective job in
making this page simple, but in doing so, he sacrificed quality. The page
is quick-loading, simple in design, and efficient in file size. How though,
can RU ever be looked upon with pride or accomplishment when such a poor
design is reflected on its web medium?
Right now, students are applying more on-line than ever before. Why give
them a reason to leave? Prospective Computer Science majors and Graphic
Design majors (like I was three years ago) see this page, and really think to
themselves, "Is this the kind of education I am going to get? How to
make a site in Adobe Pagemill?" This page reminds me of an Apple II GS. (Remember those from elementary
school?)
In order to accurately reflect the immensely expanding population of web
savvy students on RU's campus, we need an improvement in the RU home page.
It is time to take Radford University into the next century.
What do you think? Leave your feedback below.
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Name:Brian Comments:
Thanks for the suggestion. Rick Rogers explained to me in a private letter a few things about why the site was the way it was. Simplicity was a main concern of his, and for good reason too. I have not disputed that point. Every good web page should be
quick loading. The RU site does effectively meet that goal.
Rick mentioned a few other things, but I will respect his wishes, and reserve those comments. He has said many times that he is open for suggestions. Email him at rrogers@runet.edu if you have some.
Again, I feel that I must reiterate. I have no problems with the individual(s) responsible for the RU site. I do, however, feel that the site is indicative of a low-quality representation of what I wo
uld consider a high-quality institution of learning. Radford University will never get rid of the reputation of being a poor-quality, middle-of-nowhere party school until our name is presented in such a way that proves otherwise to the general public. I
think a significant step to reach that general public is to take the proactive step, and make the RU site something all students, alumni, and faculty alike can be proud of.
Name: Mic Comments:
why do we need to bother hearing the excuses why the site is behind the
times. I think pointing fingers and making excuses is stupid. The point is our homepage looks old and it is reflects badly on our school. I think whoever makes it is a talented group
but they need to get themselves a designer or two that can make the site look hi-tech. unfortunatly good html and information designers look bad till they have a graphic designer to give them a good look and feel.
Comments:
Brian- You say Rick Rogers provided you with reasons why the site is the way it is, why not share these reasons with the rest of us?
Name:tonya Major: Corp & Prof Comm Comments:
the ru pages suck. true. but they don't suck nearly as bad as other schools'.
there needs to be better organization. trent brubaker over at the faculty development center has helped out a lot by creating a new template for the academic depts. if you click the frontpage link to academics, you should see what i'm talking about. an
yhow, he created the template of the page that has dr. ferren's pic on it.
back to the front page, though. it's true that it's simple and to the point. but it does need some pizazz.
for an example of what NOT to do, though, look at www.odu.edu. their page takes about 20 years to download on a 56K modem, and it's even slow on the computers in the labs hooked up to ethernet.
maybe they should hire mike sos to do some graphics for them... =)
Name: Brian Reinertsen Major: Social Work Comments:
Brian, I think that the homepage needs to be updated to reflect the true spirit of what it is to be a Highlander. We are not stuck in the past, and our webpage shouldn't be either.
Name:Brian Major: Advertising Comments:
Lauren- Nothing would please me more. The only thing holding me back from offering my services is my seriously tight schedule. My day is so jam-packed. I really don't have the time to invest in this site-- at least not as much time as I think it needs
. My senior year is looking pretty open though...
Name:WHIM ArT Director Comments:
Abbey-
the WHIM staff has been working on a new concept that might fullfill your needs. Keep a look out for some new features to be added soon.
Michael Sos
WHIM Art Director
Name:Lauren Major: Media Studies Comments:
Brian, You're "Whim" page is so good, why don't YOU work with the administration to improve RU's website?
Name:Abbey Thompson Major: Middle Education Comments:
I think that it would be helpful for most students to have a way to find rides home in this site
Name:Patricia Turnes Major: Math Comments:
I totally agree. It's so hard to find anything on this page. I've been trying to find info on an upcoming concert at RU; I've been to the page 3 or 4 times and every time I come up empty handed!
Name: Brian :) Comments:
Ben, here are some examples of broken links that I have come across. Truly, there can be no way to catch all errors every second of the day as they change. There should be, however, something in the job involving a regular maintenance of the site. RU
Web Administrators have plenty of other things to do, but the front page is merely a window of what's beneath. Here are some links I know of that are not working.
visiting RU --big broken image(fullpage) Surely, a link that ALL parents will read.
Now, I will reiterate that there is no way the Administrators can "sniff" these dead links and deal with them every day. There should be, perhaps, a set of guidelines regarding the making of sites. Maybe sites under construction should not even exist (e
xcept in dummy directories) until they are published. That could be one of the rules.
Name:Rachel Major: Information Systems Comments:
I agree with Ben and Brian in that the page is hard to use for quick information purposes. Thank God for the alphabetical index! Last year, when I was in the middle of the college application process, I found WHIM's site. When I went back to read the n
ew articles, it was no where to be found. It is very hard to find what you are looking for without the exact address. I do not wish to trash the creator of this site because I understand that a lot of work is required to pull a project like this off. I d
o think however, that the main page links could be defined better and border=0 would be a real asset to the graphic links.
Name: Ben Stillman Major: Management Comments:
Brian, I think you have some very valid points in your article. I agree with you that when you look around at other Universities' home pages around the state and the country, you will find that RU's page lacks a good, strong element of organization and
even a little flare. Because of this, I see RU's pages as rather hollow..like a peanut shell with no nut in it.
On one hand, I can see the point that informational pages such as RU's don't need a bunch of Javascripts and other bells and whistles to make them particularly flashy(and slower). But on the other hand, I agree that there could be some improvements made
so that the pages reflect closer what RU really is. By this, I mean better integrating RU's color scheme into the pages, and striving for better consistancy.
More importantly, RU's pages are hard to navigate. I get frustrated sometimes for the simple reason that I'm looking for a page where I can find specific information and can't find it. For example, how many people have tried to find out more information
about Sports Clubs on campus, such as Ru Ice Hockey or the Rugby club? Its's practically impossible, unless you know the EXACT URL where their pages are located.
Finally, another thing that always strikes me as unprofessional on a website are broken links and broken images. I don't have any specific URLs where these occured on RU webspace, but I found at least 5 or 6 the other day just in surfing around. It occu
rs to me that if you want the general public to look upon RU withhigh regard, then our webspace must reflect that professionalism. I certainly have a great deal of pride for Radford University as a whole. I wish I had the same pride for our web space.
Name:The Author, Brian Korte Major: Advertising Comments:
I would like to thank RU web page Administrator, Rick Rogers, for being available to give and receive feedback about the RU site. He has provided me with reasons why the site is the way it is, and we have agreed on many points. I appreciate his professi
onalism. If you have comments or questions regarding the RU home page, Rick welcomes feedback. Be nice people. That's what makes the world go 'round. :)
