RAPID CITY â" A national organization that analyzes
admissions Web sites of more than 3,000 post-secondary schools has
ranked the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology as one of
the best in the nation.
The National Research Center for College & University
Admissions' Ninth Annual Enrollment Power Index gave Mines an 'A'
for its admissions site.
"We are proud to have our admissions website recognized by
NRCCUA as one of the leading sites in the nation," Dr. Charles
Ruch, School of Mines president, said. "We developed our site with
the knowledge that potential students would be looking here for
critical admissions information. As a result, we have made strides
to constantly update our site with the latest tools and information
that meet the needs of students and ensure that they can learn
about what we have to offer."
School of Mines officials say they plan to utilize more
features, including current student blogs, video tours and
interactive functions.
The research-based study rates how well the functionality and
design of college and university admissions Web sites provide
information to potential students and move them from prospect to
applicant. The study graded the sites for each institution on a
100-point scale. The School of Mines was one of only 140
institutions that received an A. The School of Mines was rated 111
overall out of more than 3,000 institutions, and ranked no. 5 on
the list of Top-10 Specialty Institutions.
"We congratulate the School of Mines for having one of the top
admissions-related Web sites in the country," said Don Munce,
president of NRCCUA. "In today's online environment, a quality Web
site can now be the difference between a lost prospect and a new
student. By developing a dynamic and up-to-date online information
source, (Institution) is ensuring that prospective students have
critical information at their fingertips that will help them make
decisions about their college careers."
The study took into account such features as page design and
ease of navigation, online access to admissions materials and
additional admissions information.
To identify the admissions Web site
features that have the most significant impact of a potential
student's perception of the site, an e-mail survey was sent to more
than 100,000 college-bound high school students asking them to rate
admissions Web sites. Next, more than 3,000 sites were evaluated to
identify functional features present on each site. Statistical
tests were then used to identify the functional features that were
important to students and their relative importance.
