Who is creating these sites?

In most cases, it is diffcult to tell who is creating the WWW site, but most of those with an obvious author are from the academic computing department. Many institutions have implemented a statistical program that calculates how many visitors visit the site and continously provides up-to-date information about WWW statistics for a particular site. The University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign [link to http://www.uiuc.edu/misc/stats.html] provides one example.

Other universities, such as the University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth, have written lengthy reports about the development and future of the Internet on their campus and have made it readily available to administrators, faculty, students, and others through a link on their WWW site.

Some institutions have recognized the need to form a committee that explores the WWW development for the institution. The University of Southern California has constructed such a team that comprises not only technical computer staff, but a graphic designer and other administrators from all portions of the institution.

Hiring out WWW development to professional multimedia companies is another option available to higher education administrators. The section on commerical sites addresses this issue in greater detail.

What types of information should be included?

The survey found that most colleges provide a section designated for general information about the university, however, all colleges should provide a simple section that will offer newcomers some introductory information. Most of the time, this information comes directly from existing material that the institution uses in publications, viewbooks, and other material produced by the institution. Few institutions provided information for alumnae or for journalists, which are two areas that should be developed.

The Good/Poor Sites section provides some examples of a variety of sections popular on many of the college and university sites.

How should the site be organized?

There are as many different approaches to designing a WWW site as there are sites and it differs with the types of information you wish to present. Many colleges use clickable maps as a way for the visitor to navigate through the site, others use a menu bar, and some use a variation of a traditional outline. We found that the most effective sites are those with manageable home pages -- those that don't overload the visitor with endless choices, but guides the visitor into information that pertains to their interests.

What services are most useful?

Campus maps and a directory of student, faculty and staff are the most useful services at the present time. Not only do these provide valuable information for the entire campus community, visitors may rely on the campus maps to learn more about the campus before making a personal visit. As students, faculty, and staff come onto the WWW with their own home pages, it will be necessary for campuses to provide a directory to these as well. Home pages will be a great way for students to learn more about faculty before registering for classes and to meet other students on campus. Administrators should encourage home page development as a way to get the entire campus excited about the advancing technology at your institution.

What types of hypermedia should be included in the WWW site?

The survey found that few institutions push the limit where hypermedia is concerned. The trends section offers some examples of the best hypermedia qualities that some institutions are using. Hypermedia makes the site more interesting and may attract more visitors, which will be an important quality when more and more commercial sites compete for the WWW surfers.

Is it worth our time, money, and effort to develop a WWW site?

Most colleges already are connected to the Internet, hence creating a digital presence should be relatively inexpensive if the computing staff can assist with the WWW development. Smaller institutions without this expertise may want to look at hiring outside counsel to assist with the development and upkeep of the site. The commercial section profiles some of the companies and provides a range of prices.

Either way, the WWW is another source of information through which the institution may contact potential donors, prospective students, and even new faculty. Much of the information a WWW site requires already exists in published form. Organization and continued development are the time-consuming activities.