The document discusses the inadequacies of university website management and highlights the disconnect between what information institutions provide and what students actually want. Key student complaints include outdated information, lack of structure, and mistrust of overly marketed content. Recommendations for improvement focus on organization, accessibility, and collaborative efforts with student unions to enhance user experience.

1. What Students Want Institutional Web Management 2001: Organising Chaos

2. Who Are We? MJ Ray Former Student Union Webmaster tsw Founding Editor Andrew Savory Former Student Union Webmaster Former University Webmaster Luminas

3. Why We're Here Some time in Higher Education 6 years working on SU sites 4 years working on tsw 5 years work on HEI sites Now semi-detached

4. WebsitesThatSuck.com Are university sites really that bad? No! Yes... Well, maybe. Lots of useful information But is it "What Students Want"?

5. What HE Sites Try to Do Marketing (prospectus etc.) Course information Timetables Reading lists Results and grades Enrolments Term dates Event information

6. What Students Want Prospectus Course information Timetables Reading lists Results and grades Enrolments Term dates Event information

7. Why Aren't They Happy? "I just want it to work." "It's always out of date." "I still haven't found what I'm looking for." Actually: "I want it structured to find what I want without searching through links and pages."

8. Why Aren't They Happy? "It has to look nice for students thinking of coming here." "I want links to the Student Union social stuff." "I don't trust it." (too much marketing material to draw students in?)

9. How to Improve? Structure and Organisation Separate student material Types of content Mostly right, but some missing Quality Timeliness

10. How to Improve? Simplicity and elegance vs. "Wow!" Accessibility Work with Student Unions to gain credibility

11. Remember the Audience Paying customers now? Legal requirements Teaching Quality Assessment

12. Summary... Much done right Still strive to improve Listen to the audience Ask "what students want"!

13. Top Ten Tips for Tip-top Sites 1) Provide the basics first 2) Update the information 3) Segregate the information 4) Maintain consistency 5) Use Student Unions to complement your content 6) Get institutional buy-in to providing services 7, 8, 9, 10) Ask them what they want!