The Eagle Eye

Issue date: 2/19/09 Section: News

LHU's Web site recently received a makeover, which is still a work in progress. Students are encouraged to make comments about the new design.

Beginning Feb. 9, LHU students saw a rather drastic change regarding the university's homepage.
A committee containing two faculty representatives, five administration representatives and two graduate students made the decision to alter the previous Web site in hopes to gain consistency across the site.
It will now become easier to navigate for students, potential students, as well as faculty and staff.
While it is still a work in progress, this site will eventually contain a template for each department, which allows each department to customize the page to suit their needs.
The Web site is "a significant tool in representing our university, the mission, the spirit. It is used to help communicate what the university is about to potential students and their parents and a well designed website is part of that," said Dr. Jason Bronner.
Bronner is among the representatives to decide on the homepage's changes and total design.
Although students may find themselves resistant to this change, they are encouraged to "live with it for a little bit because there are some benefits that will be apparent," said Bronner.
When comparing a Web site to a published book, Bronner said, "smaller things can be added or changed for improvements as our needs change."
A Web site is always a work in progress, "always evolving," said Bronner.
However, Lock Haven University's Web site is "pretty close to what will work for the university," says Bronner.
A main question among students and faculty regarding this new design is: why the white background, what happened to the maroon?
Not only has this new Web site's navigation changed, but the main appearance that stood out has also been altered.
"It's so boring compared to the old one. What's with the white?" said Laura Kucsan, a senior.
Campus Village Resident Director Wendy Walsh says, "I liked the red, it represented something rich."
So why the drastic change? Even though the maroon background added color and represented the university in many ways, a white background was ultimately chosen for not only a cleaner look but to also help students with reading and navigating the site.
This white, neutral background, also maintains a good contrast between the pictures on the site.
"After a while, red becomes overwhelming," said Bronner.
This new look is targeted toward new or potential students, but students can find any type of information under the "Current Students" link located on the homepage.
Students are encouraged to share their comments and suggestions of improvement will be taken into consideration.
Students may do so by emailing Scott Eldredge, director of Web Development, at seldredg@lhup.edu.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools