CLASS ASSIGNMENT//Ugly Websites: Are Christian Colleges Selling Themselves Short on the Net?

When I explored Biola University as a prospective student, I saw it first on printed advertisements. But it was the website where I spent the most time, weaving through links and menus until I knew exactly what the dorm floor plans looked like and how the honors program stacked up.

Now, when people ask why I chose this school, I refer to the website -- specifically the first-year web journals for which I would later become a contributor. I remember reading the journal of a guy named Jeremy. He was an out-of-stater with an expansive vocabulary and an unmistakable heart for Christ. I remembered that I wanted, someday, to write like Jeremy did, to be as grounded as Jeremy was.

And so I chose Biola, largely because of what I found at biola.edu.

But I have to question the look and functionality of our current website. If prospective students are choosing between several great, Christian schools, the website could make or break that decision. We need to be wise stewards of our net presence.

So in this series of posts, I'll be looking at Biola's site in comparison to other universities -- schools that would be on a prospective's finalist list. Are we projecting a good image? Or are we selling ourselves short?

Let's take a look.

But first, read what Britain's The Guardian has to say about the disconnect between teens and unwieldy university websites.