Garbage In, Garbage Out

If your team waits to time-track until the end of the recording period and then back-dates all their time-tracking with bogus data, what do you expect to get out of time-tracking? If your time-tracking system allows for templates and you use them so much that you never need to actually track time anymore, what do you expect to get out of time tracking? If the data these systems collect are duplicated or exist across many places or are just plain fudged, what good is it?

Enforcing the use of a particular system helps.  Getting and promoting a system where people feel that they get more value out of it than the effort it takes to put into it is even better.

It’s Not the Hammer; It’s the Carpenter.

If you need a major home improvement done, you hire a contractor. And if it’s not done the way you want it, you don’t blame the tools, your blame the people. Tools help you do the job, but they don’t do it for you. They require expertise. Do you even know what information you want to get from the application in the first place? Do you know enough about the data you are collecting to know how to get what you want from the tools? Do you know how to use the tools?

You may be asked to play mind reader, to pull Web analytics reports without knowing what kind of reports people want.  People may ask you for training on the statistics tools when what they really need is an understanding of how your organization is structured, its business processes, and those relate to the data entered into the tools.  When people don’t know what they want or don’t have the expertise, they may jump to conclusions and blame the tools.

Do or Do Not. There is No Try.

Information is valuable because it guides our actions.  You may have good data, you may know how to use the tools to get the information you need, but if the information ends up a weekly report that gets ignored in a supervisor’s email sandwiched between Nigerian scams and watch replications, then the whole process has been a colossal waste of time and effort.

Photo Credit: Arm and Hammer by Aaron Escobar

Related posts:

1. The Art of Assessing Your Data
2. Four Types of Web Analytic Data
3. 3 Ways to Build Knowledge Base #FAIL

In all the discussions I realized how similar but yet very different all the web offices are. They range from large and centralized to small 1-2 person teams. I summed it up in this tweet:

“Major theme from #heweb09: There are a lot of great people underfunded, understaffed and underappreciated doing some great stuff!“

I wanted to try and get an understanding of the landscape of higher education web environments to see what works, what doesn’t and how we can all improve. I created a survey for anyone who’s primary job is working on any part of an institution’s Web site. It should not take more than 5 minutes to complete.

The survey will be open until October 25th so spread the word to any higher ed web professionals. The more responses the better the results and analysis.

Survey closed. Stay tuned for results.

Related posts:

1. [Results] State of the University Web Department survey
2. Guru Interviews: Shelby Thayer, Penn State University
3. [Guru Survey] Are Classes In Your Toolbox?

This presentation was jam packed with great insights and nuggets that I found enlightening, and some rather surprising. 

Demographics:

• 250 from each of the four geographic regions in the U.S.
• 50/50 male/female
• 53% caucasian, 16% African-American/Black, 10% Hispanic/Latino, 9% multiple ethnicities, 4% Asian, 3% Indian/Native American, 3% declined, 1% other
• Grades: A – 39%, B – 48%, C – 12%
• Family income: 25% less than $50k, 23% between $50-75k, 11% between $75-100k, 7% between %100-$125k, 4% more than $125k, 29% don’t know/refused
• 77% connect via DSL or cable, 11% phone modem, 3% handheld device.

When asked if the current economic crisis caused them to reconsider the schools they were applying to or may attend, 64% said no. 

62% said their parents/family are helping them with research and/or paperwork. Of that group, 21% say they help them look at Web sites and go on campus visits with them.

Content is king! Prospects are taking time to read details about cost and processes. 

50% said colleges and universities should use young, edgy and bold designs for their sites. 43% said schools should take a more traditional approach with their site design. When I tweeted this tid-bit, @KarlynM said it would be interesting to find out these students definition of body and edgy. 

Navigation and information architecture is so important. 85% report the links should take me right to the answers to their questions, where 15% said they don’t pay much attention to the link choices and head straight for the search box or site index. Either way – making information easily findable and searchable is key.

41% found your school via Google or another search site by typing in your school’s name. 38% use services like Zinch, MyCollegeOptions or College Board to match them to your school. Only 13% referred to a printed document with your URL on it. May be time to re-think handouts, such as postcards, just to advertise specific Web sites.

They want to do fun stuff. 42% say they want to find more to do on a college site than just click and read. 

What do they want to do most? I’m most shocked by “RSS feeds with admissions info and campus activities,” and where it fares in the list! They actually know what RSS feeds are? I’ve gotten the impression from other articles and survey results I’ve read that most don’t know, that RSS is just the plumbing behind the scenes. They may be using it, but they aren’t aware of it. Maybe they are, now?

Social Networking

And, the ever-popular Facebook vs. MySpace debate. 50% listed being on Facebook and 52% said MySpace. For the Facebook group, 56% were A students, 47% B students, 41% C students. Northeast, midwest and south all more likely to be on Facebook than MySpace. For the MySpace group, 65% black, 70% latino vs. 44% white and 43% Asian. 47% were B students, 58% were C students, and 44% were A students. Only 2% reported not participating in social networking. When asked if colleges and universities should create a presence within social networks/communities to promote their programs, 70% said yes! In addition, 75% said schools should create their own private communities, like Cafe New Paltz, that are password protected and for invited students only. 51% said they wouldn’t mind school representatives contacting them directly via a social network.

What content will make a different to them on a social network? They’re most interested in discussions about courses and academics (3.74, mean 1-5), student activities and extracurricular options (3.65), and insight into the school’s culture and diversity (3.37). They’re interested in communication with current students and faculty (3.10), communication with prospective students (3.01), profiles of current students and faculty (2.88), and posting profiles as a student who may attend (2.88).

Very few reported text messaging as a method they’d prefer for admissions transactions such as answers to questions or  acceptance notices. For all transactions, their preferred method was online over in person, phone, mail or text.

87% are willing to give their e-mail address to a school to communicate with them. 45% of them do it at the inquiry stage, 28% when they’re ready to apply to the school, 15% after they’ve been accepted, and 9% after they make their final decision.

Summary:

• Economic issues mean that Web sites will have to work harder in lieu of visits to ensure prospects see value and compelling details.
• Parents and families are inextricably linked and we should be talking directly to them — and often!
• The experience prospects have on our site matters in their decision whether to probe further into your programs and offerings, and how they’d fit on our campus.
• We need to focus more on content. Content, content, content. Make it readable, printable, referenceable, searchable. 
• Focus on your navigation. Test it with college-bound students. Don’t use internal lingo. 
• Focus on your design. Take a leap. Go bold.
• Find your place on social networks. Be social. Be helpful. Find the right fit for your campus with the various tools out there. Re-read the demographics above – different sites work for different institutions, depending on their typical student base.

Related posts:

1. E-Expectations: How to Focus Your Online Recruiting Efforts
2. Live Blogging AMA Higher Ed: The E-Expectations of College Bound Seniors
3. Class of 2014 Web Communities: What Would a Chaperone Do?