Ohio Wesleyan Launches New ‘Choose’ Admission Website
Ohio Wesleyan’s new admission website includes information about the curriculum, alumni outcomes, and more to help prospective students and families explore all Ohio Wesleyan has to offer. (Image courtesy of OWU’s Office of Marketing and Communication)
Ohio Wesleyan University has launched a new admission website, www.owu.edu, designed to provide a more user-friendly experience for prospective students and their families.
The site includes a new eight-minute video, “Ohio Wesleyan University: The Opposite of Ordinary,” which provides an overview of the OWU educational experience including the university’s commitment to providing a liberal arts education that helps students to translate classroom theory into real-world practice and empowers them to write university-funded grants to support research projects around the world.
“Ohio Wesleyan’s new ‘choose’ site was designed and built in-house, allowing us to utilize the expertise of those who know us best,” says Rebecca Eckstein, vice president for enrollment. “The site is dynamic and engaging. I am confident it will enhance our efforts to attract students who will flourish in the rigorous learning environment at Ohio Wesleyan.”
In addition to providing a prominent home for the “Opposite of Ordinary” video, the admission site also features:
Downloadable snapshots that explain Ohio Wesleyan’s academic departments and 93 majors, sequences, and courses of study. Improved access to prospective-student video chats, including a chat archive with transcripts of questions. An easier-to-use OWU map with enhanced forms to schedule campus visits. Improved access to major admission events and calendars. A dedicated section spotlighting the outcomes of recent OWU graduates and older alumni. Easily accessible snapshots and “fast facts” about Ohio Wesleyan, including rankings and other honors. Improved integration of social media tools, including Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and Flickr.
The site will continue to evolve in the weeks ahead, with plans to add an interactive, mobile-device-friendly campus tour as well as additional video features covering topics such as student and residential life, faculty, alumni, athletics, and international students.
OWU’s Cheri Theisen, associate director and project manager for marketing and communication, and Doug Thompson, manager of web and electronic communications, worked most closely with Eckstein to design and build the site.
“This has been an exciting project,” says Theisen, who previously helped to redesign the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium’s website. “Our goals were to share the OWU story in a clear, compelling way to help students decide whether Ohio Wesleyan is right for them. The new site updates and consolidates a lot of information and provides a solid framework for continual enhancements. Prospective students already have begun using the new forms, and we’ll be monitoring other use to make the site as effective as possible.”