Wednesday, November 21, 2001

Tennessee State U. and Spelman College Top New List of Best Black-College Web Sites By FLORENCE OLSEN Tennessee State University and Spelman College had the best Web sites in an October survey of 103 historically black colleges and universities, according to a report published Monday by the Howard University Digital Learning Lab's Archimedes Project. The ratings, which are intended to help historically black institutions use Web technologies more effectively, are based on 22 criteria by which judges evaluate each institution's Web site. "We would expect that once the colleges take a look at the ratings, a whole bunch of them will go out and do those things" that the top-rated colleges are doing on their Web sites, says Roy L. Beasley, director of the Digital Learning Lab. "Our goal is to encourage other people to adopt those best practices." Tennessee State "is No. 1, like Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan," Mr. Beasley says. But second-ranked Spelman College was also a clear favorite of the judges. Looking at Spelman's Web site, says Mr. Beasley, "you can't help but see this is a vital, intellectual place." Ingrid Lassiter, the lead Webmaster at Spelman, and one assistant are responsible for the 300-page site. The site was redesigned in August, with help from an outside consultant, Ms. Lassiter says. "The most sophisticated feature on the site incorporates another system, SCT Banner. Students can go in, view their accounts, and pay for tuition online." The ratings measure a site's usefulness rather than its aesthetic appeal. A fast Internet connection and easy navigation were given twice the weight of the other criteria. Mr. Beasley says he was somewhat disappointed to see that most of the colleges with interactive-database features on their Web sites had paid outside companies to do the sophisticated programming required, rather than attempt it themselves. He thinks many historically black colleges, especially the larger ones, can and should develop such skills in-house. "The information-technology faculty and staff need the experience of doing this stuff," Mr. Beasley says. Outsourcing may be deepening the "digital divide" between historically black institutions and other colleges, he adds. Three of the 103 historically black colleges had no Web sites. The fact that high scores were received by a few small institutions -- Bethune-Cookman, Morehouse, and Oakwood Colleges among them -- proves that large historically black colleges and universities have no monopoly on information-technology talent, Mr. Beasley says. But even the best sites could be improved. "There were gaps," he says. Sixty-five of the 100 colleges that have Web sites failed the survey's "two clicks" test, which looks at whether essential topics like financial aid, directories, and libraries are more than two clicks away from the site's home page. What's more, only 37 of the Web sites had search functions, and only 24 had site maps. Search engines and site maps make navigating and finding information on a Web site much easier. Another weakness of the Web sites was a lack of secure communications links that would allow processing registration and admissions online, and accepting tuition and fee payments online. Some combination of passwords, encryption, and digital signatures is usually required to make the network secure enough to conduct those activities online. Mr. Beasley says he was especially surprised by how few sites provided secure communications for alumni interested in making donations online. The survey judges visited the Web sites at least twice between October 22 and November 11. The ratings will be conducted three times a year. In the coming months, Mr. Beasley says, the Digital Learning Lab plans to offer seminars, workshops, technical support, and critiques to assist historically black colleges in developing their faculty and staff members' Web skills. The full rankings from the survey are available online at the Digital Learning Lab's Web site. For more information on the Archimedes Project, visit its Web site. (Both links work only with Microsoft's Internet Explorer Web browser.) Easy-to-print version E-mail this article

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