Try as I might, I could find nothing wrong with CLC's new website. They could even have been the writers of the
University of Maryland Checklist (UM Checklist) and the
Yale Web Style Guide. I usually have a good eye for typographical errors and/or incorrect syntax and connotation, but even these were non-existent.
According to the UM Checklist, CLC has fulfilled the following requirements:
- Authority and Accuracy
- Copyright belongs to the College of Lake County.
- The authors are Public Relations (PR) and Information Systems (IS) departments of CLC.
- Authorship is obvious from the url (.edu) and from the domain name (clcillinois) as long as the individual knows the college's name.
- Qualifications of the group that created the site:
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CLC's Directory lists staff members within each department. PR and IS employ graphic designers, web developers, data base administrators, analysts, desktop publishers, user support specialists etc., which comprise the full support required of an IS department. However, I could not find individual qualifications such as biographies of the personnel which could confirm educational and/or personal accomplishments.
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Feedback can be provided by emailing the Webmaster as noted on each page footer.
- CLC has offered the Multimedia Communications (MMC) degree since 1999, and Ellie Pinkham is the Instructor of the program. IS, PR, and MMC must interact in order to provide a current curriculum to the student.
- Purpose and Content
- Educational, factual, and concise.
- Currency of Updates
- Site was last updated March 24, 2003.
- Curent data is critical. An educational institute needs to provide current semester data, and CLC also lists additional values such as Performing Arts Events, Student Activities, and Athletic schedules, which change constantly.
- Even when the new site was being implemented, there were no Error 404 messages. CLC was careful to advise surfers of the new links.
- Design, Organization and Ease of Use
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CLC's website fulfills the guidelines of both the UM Checklist and the Yale Web Guide.
- It is professionally designed and utilizes plenty of white space to offset headings and information.
- Information is "chunked."
- Colors are pastel and sophisticated in design.
- Navigation is effortless and menus are easy to understand and always within view.
- Site map and search features are easily accessible.
- Maps and directions, hours of operation, and contact information such as telephone numbers, email addresses, and street address are quickly accessible.
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