A new University of Lethbridge future-student website has been designed to be mobile-friendly and responsive to the needs of students beginning their academic careers.

The website, located at www.uleth.ca/future-student,was developed with the future student user experience in mind.

“We’re really excited about this site and how it allows us to present an authentic view of the uLethbridge student experience,” says Natasha Buis Deering, director for uLethbridge’s Enrolment Services. “Our previous recruitment content management system was no longer meeting the needs of our future students. We were limited in the manner we could present information and the site was not searchable, thereby limiting the ability of our users to easily access the information they needed.”

The new website is mobile-friendly and has created an interactive user environment that is easy to navigate. It is also the first phase of a larger website revitalization at the University.

“The overwhelming majority of visitors to our previous future-student website accessed the site via their smartphone or tablet, with less than 10 per cent of visitors coming to the site from either desktop or laptop computers,” says Buis Deering. “This site is optimized for mobile platforms, meaning our future students, guidance counselors, parents, everyone can easily access a full user experience. Today’s students demand the information they need regardless of where they are and on what device they are using.”

She adds that students are extremely web savvy and demand authenticity from websites. Enrolment Services has responded by presenting the uLethbridge experience from the perspective of current students and recent graduates.

“Prospective students don’t want to hear us telling them what to expect from their educational experience — who better to talk about student-experience than actual uLethbridge students? We gave them a voice and let them tell their stories. It’s very powerful.”

Other features of the website include an updated look that ties together print and digital materials used by the University to create a cohesive future-student experience. It will also have behind-the-scenes capabilities to help the University track users as they make their way through the site, further allowing the institution to respond quickly to user preferences.