These pages are very different from one another, but are overall effective (if not aligned design-wise). Much of the content is focused on current students, but could be adjusted to speak more to prospectives. The navigation structure makes it difficult for students to find this content.
The housing tours are excellent and can serve as a model for other tours. The content overall feels authentic and reflects a genuine student feel.
Hospitality, Housing, and Student Life
Option to intro the rec content...
Each site has its own unique design quirks but no singular site made us think “Why is this here?”
In particular, the Housing site does everything it is supposed to do and more. The virtual tours of the dorm rooms are thoughtful and detailed and give the students (especially international students) a better look behind the scenes. The content on all of these sites feel the most “authentic” to the student and could be because a student wrote the content.
Thinking about the prospective student journey, we know that students are very interested in the dorms (especially the cost), food, athletics, and other accommodations. However, these sites serve a very particular purpose with the current student in mind. In the recordings and page flows we examined, prospective students rarely find these websites unless there is something transactional they need to do. It would be interesting to think about how to pull some of the culture and life these pages bring to content in other sections on the Admissions and Academic pages.
