Web Audit of University of Melbourne & Australian National University - Case Study Example

Web Audit report: University of Melbourne & Australian National University Name: Tutor: Course: Date: WEB AUDIT REPORT University of Melbourne, founded in 1853, is located in Melbourne, Victoria and is the second oldest university in the state. It is one of the world’s leading universities in research excellence, teaching and education. Some of the courses offered include biomedicine, science, design, commerce and arts. The institution has a web presence as www.unimelb.edu.au and also on social media; Facebook as The University of Melbourne and on Twitter as @unimelb. The total enrolment is at 42,000 students as at 2014 and an endowment of AUD$1.978billion. Australian National University, founded in 1946, is located in Canberra and has seven teaching and research colleges. It is among one of the best universities in the world. It has a total enrolment of 21,100 students as at 2013 and its total endowment is AUD$1.13billion. The institution’s web presence is www.anu.edu.au and on Facebook as Australian National University. On Twitter, it is @our_ANU. Domain University of Melbourne is one of the leading universities in the world. It is mostly searched for scholarships, teaching and educational courses. The domain used is (.au) UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE www.unimelb.edu.au Home page www.futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/ Admissions, applications and entry requirements www.portal.unimelb.com Student portal www.enactusunimelb.org.au/ Corporate affairs and social responsibility www.unimelb.libguides.com/ Library services www.about.unimelb.edu.au/staff Staff www.intranet.mdhs.unimelb.edu.au/contact_hr Human resources www.alumni.unimelb.edu.au/ Alumni and friends The naming conventions for most of the departments and functions at the university follow www.unimelb.au . This site allows a user to access the various departments after logging in. This domain is consistent in most of the searches for student admissions, staff, human resources, alumni and friends. However, the site uses (.com) to locate library services, corporate affairs and prospective students searching from abroad. Australian National University specializes in public policy and discovery and is a research-intensive university. AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY www.anu.edu.au/ Home page (Library, www.anucollege.edu.au/ Academic programs and colleges www.apf.edu.au/ Phenomics facility www.etudeedl.free.fr/ Art and architecture of Mediterranean and Japan www.uac.edu.au/ University Admission Centre https://alumniandfriends.anu.edu.au/ Alumni home page www.timeshighereducation.com/ World University rankings www.anusa.com.au/ Extension to social media The Australian University website has a common domain (edu.au) for its departments and colleges, academic programs and library facilities. However, it uses (.com) when intending to interact with outside communities and prospective students. Compared to the University of Melbourne, it has fewer sites but all have an extension edu.au. Domain 4 4 Search engine position S(www.unimelb.edu.au) www.ecu.edu.au/ www.unimelb.edu.au/ www.anucollege.edu.au/ www.twitter.com/unimelb/ www.open.edu.au/australian_unis_online www.theconversation.com/ S(www.anu.edu.au/) www.youtube.com/user/unimelb/ https://www.youtube.com/user/ANUchannel newsroom.melbourne.edu www.anucollege.edu.au/ R(www.all-the-jobs.com/) R (www.duke-nus.edu.sg/) S(www.unimelb.edu.au/) www.anu.edu.au/ www.festival.melbourne/ www.anucollege.edu.au/ www.topuniversities.com/ www.ecu.edu.au/ www.timeshighereducation.com/ www.topuniversities.com/ theconversation.com/ www.timeshighereducation.com/ R(www.study.monash/) www.anucollege.edu.au www.coursera.org/unimelb/ www.studyoptions.com/university-profiles/ www.unimelb.edu.au/ www.anu.edu.au/ R(www.theconversation.com/) www.anuboatclub.org/ www.topuniversities.com/ www.edx.org/school/anux www.timeshighereducation.com/ www.anucollege.edu.au/ www.coursera.org/unimelb/ www.studyabroad.arcadia.edu/ www.ifsa-butler.org/ www.youtube.com/user/ANUchannel/ R(www.usnews.com ) www.linkedin.com/company/australian-national-university/ University of Melbourne: The search term gives ‘unimelb’ is unique and even with the extension .edu.au is sponsored. Users who search university of Melbourne using this domain will always arrive at the same results even in related searches. Related searches give a list of other universities in Australia. Australian National University: When searched with anu.edu, the domain is directed to Australian National University. However, when searched under (.com), the search gives a different result which is an Indian university, Acharya Nagarjuna University. This means that users have to cautious when searching for Australian National University as it gives many different results. Related searches give a list of other universities in Australia. Search engine position 3 2 Condition (Situational Analysis) University of Melbourne: The University has 12 residential colleges with great educational experience and accommodation for university students (The University of Melbourne, 2016). It adopted new technologies such as social media and the internet to improve service delivery and increase effectiveness. So far, the university has hundreds of databases, more than 32,000 e-books and about 63,000 specialist and general journals in digital form (Davies, O’Brien & McLean, 2014). Being the largest Australian tertiary institution, it has an endowment of AUD$1.978billion. The university spent about AUD$813million on research of which most of the materials is posted online. Melbourne Accelerator Program (MAP) was established to maximize on mobile shopping applications in 2012 (Funnell, 2014). Students have their own portals to access academic materials and libraries. While the internet came as a disruptor in the 1990s, it is now being used in departmental communication and information sharing in the university. In 2012, the university joined Coursera, online course advisor, to offer free courses to any one with internet and computer access (The University of Melbourne, 2016). Students and lecturers interact in areas of online teaching and e-learning. The university also collaborates and cooperates with Stanford and Princeton Universities to reach diverse audience (The Melbourne Newsroom, 2012). It uses e-learning and e-scholarship platforms such as global community of peers, interactive content and short video lectures especially in animal behavior and macroeconomics. Webometrics ranking puts the university at no. 71 and QS rankings placed it at 42 globally (Australian Universities, 2016). Currently, more than 70% of its students have broadband internet access while 90% have unrestricted access to desktop computers (Davies, O’Brien & McLean, 2014). Integration of information systems and standardization has made the university to be a digital leader in the university sector. Australian National University: The University has more than 21,000 students and 3800 staff with an endowment of AUD$1.13billion (ANU, 2016). The library holds more than 2.5 million physical volumes. The university has gone online in terms of applications and verification for new students. Most of its courses and fee payments are now conducted online. It has a Reverse Proxy Login where students, off-campus affiliates and staff can access library databases, electronic journals, websites and online ANU services (ANU, 2015). However, there are licensing restrictions on some online services and requires one to register to acquire ANU ID and password (ANU, 2015). Students can also access Open Publish Web Space offered by the National Library of Australia. Teaching and learning has been enhanced across the university through the ANU online program which provides; learning analytics, learning capture, learning management system, content repository for education and ethical treatment of academic materials. The institution has also collaborated with IFS-Butler students through social media such as YouTube, Flickr, Google+, Instagram, Twitter and Facebook (To50Universities, 2016). It web presence it founded on commitment to web publishing, research focus and university size. Under webometrics web ranking, ANU is in the top 50 tier 3 and ranked 93 (Australian Universities, 2015). The ranking is based on impact of university website (impact) and number of web pages published (presence). Others aspects include the number of academic publications on internet (openness) and the number of internet academic publications cited (excellence). Although its web presence is acceptable, it is substandard compared to other similar institutions. Condition (Situational analysis) 4 2 Business model Both universities (University of Melbourne and Australian National University) are public universities which are publicly funded. However, reduction in state support has affected the performance of these universities meaning that they have to rely on full-pay students and endowments (Lapovsky, 2015). They are well known brands in Australia and around the world. University of Melbourne has higher endowment of AUD$1.978billion compared to Australian National University with an endowment of AUD$1.13billion. Since they fall into the list of elite institutions in the country, they recruit full-pay high ability students to fill their classes many times over (Lapovsky, 2015). They also diversity their classes based on socio-economic status by giving need-based financial aid. Business model 3 3 Context University of Melbourne: The site applies a single click to access academic programs, library, staff and students. The same web page is navigated from top to bottom on using the right scroll bar. The web page upon opening shows a picture and on scrolling up, it highlights three areas; study, research and engage. The site makes use of slides, videos, pictures, site maps, and access to other links. However, the search button is small and not obvious. Overall, the site is well-presented and thought out. It makes good use of navigation buttons and a single page to showcase many sections. The site has a site layout, bold presentation of videos and pictorials along with text. There is harmony between text and pictures through spacing, adequate font sizes and ease of navigation. The search is well executed and properly done. Australian National University: Compared to University of Melbourne, ANU has a shorter web page. It has attractive pictures but no site map until one click into the maps. The corporate site is visible and appears in bold. Other support windows are also placed next to the corporate information. The site is appealing to international students since there is a button for ‘Apply Now’. The web site is simple and basic in design but not attractive. Search results are good but not adequate. Context 3 2 Content The institutional website made good use of pictures, videos and texts. For example, it has more than two videos accessible on scroll and has more than eight pictures evenly spread on the web page. The sound of the videos is audible and well rehearsed in terms of presentation. Words in the text have been economically and sparingly used to represent uniformity, simplicity and robustness. The website of ANU used larger font sizes compared to that used in the University of Melbourne. The reason could be associated with the length of the web page. The text is simple and easy to follow even for new learners of English language. Although it made good use of pictures (12 of them), the site does not have videos as is the case in the University of Melbourne. The site has been made easier for students to easily browse for courses and programs on primary search as they are already listed. Content 3 4 Corporate ID and Design The website carries similar design and orientation www.unimelb.edu.au/ across departments and faculties. However, the site for students to access is different because it requires one to log in before accessing a similar site as shown above. ANU website has some consistency in the home page since its presence is limited to Australia. However, some subsidiary colleges bear a different corporate ID and design given by initials ANU and the word ‘college’ added to it. Compared to University of Melbourne, ANU carries varying web designs based on colleges which are semi-autonomous. Corporate ID and Design 2 3 Conventions University of Melbourne website complies with the conventions. First, the search icon (magnifying lens) is placed at the top right hand corner of the page for ease of access. The main menu also appears at the top of the web page. Navigation buttons also face sideways. The site map is also placed towards the end of the page for readers to locate after going through the basic information. The contact information appears at the bottom of the page and so does links to privacy and social media. The button ‘Find out More’ is centrally placed and shown using a navigation arrow. Overall, the web page uses a number of conventions that are universally acceptable. ANU website uses conventional icons like search (magnifying lens) and home page location (house). The privacy information and contact details of the institution appear at the bottom of the page. The main menu is centered at the top of the web page. However, it is unusual that an icon that request students to apply is placed at the center of the picture within the home page. This is a little bit confusing to new students since they first have to go through the programs before making an attempt to apply to the university. The arrangement of icons, site information, institutional specific information, and ads are in order with other conventional websites. Conventions 3 3 Customer focused -5Is The University of Melbourne targets future students from within and outside Australia. Future students: To start with, there is a specific website for international students who are enrolling for undergraduate and postgraduate courses. The site provides the entry requirements for these students including tuition fees, scholarships and accommodation. Secondly, domestic students from within Australia forms another set of customers for the university. These could be working students or those transiting from high school. Student information is available on the web pages in detail. Current students: A set of current students are both on-campus and virtual students. They access the university portal for admissions, fees, student services, events and learning materials. They are also interesting in knowing single subjects, graduate schools and short courses available. They can also follow events through social media and Australian newspapers. Staff: They access vital information, resources and communication from the faculty or schools available in the website. The five IS are; involvement, interaction, intimacy, influence and individual. The University first gets the student involved in the brand by looking at the page views and site traffic to its home page. Prospective students interact by requesting brochures and prospectus which are e-mailed or posted to their physical addresses. The students, including current students, become intimate by giving their views on comments, posts and blogs run by the university. Influence involves recommending to friends and acquaintances which could be measured in the reviews and online mentions. Admission to the university is based on individuals and not groups. Just like the University of Melbourne, ANU targets current and future students through its website. The students’ involvement is measured based on site traffic and page views using Google analytics. More time spent viewing the site means that there is a higher chance of applying or navigating through the web pages for more information. Students interact with the site when they request the faculty prospectus, post a comment on ANU blogs or request admission into online courses. The ANU faculty while going through blogs and comments on social media links to the website will judge the level of qualitative interaction based on sentiment, brand favorability and brand awareness. Current ANU students have higher potential to influence friends, acquaintances and family since they have experience of how the university brands itself through the web. This could be judged by the number of online mentions and reviews so as to understand the customer share rate. Lastly, the university focuses on the individual by sending specific messages to their e-mails or social media accounts providing information that they requested on the website. Customer focused 5Is 4 4 Community University of Melbourne has active community of users who visit the social media and contribute to comments on blogs. The website is linked to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and YouTube so that users, especially students and staff can contribute or make complaints to the University. ANU has heavy social media presence compared with University of Melbourne. The mediums are; Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. Each social media platform helps users, especially the Alumni, to keep contact with the activities and programs within the university. While YouTube helps in sharing ANU experience it also supports innovation and creativity as more students can share their thoughts and ideas. The website encourages users to interact and get involved in student and community affairs. Community 4 4 Customization The website has least customization as many of the icons can only provide additional information. The user has little ability to modify or adapt the site to suit own needs. However, users can browse the university in areas such as study, research, engage and about us. Just like University of Melbourne, this website has no customization and provides little opportunity for users to change or re-create some areas of the website. This means that users have to content with the available information and content. Customization 3 4 Communication The web page has a social networking platform in which users can communicate in social platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. This implies that the institution is committed to reaching all users and prospective students around the world. The bottom of the page has contacts provided for callers within Melbourne and abroad. In pursuit of two-way communication, the institution created an enquiries section for general, research, media, and industry and business. Besides, the institution believes in direct communication with a staff member. As such, contact details have been provided to enable international and domestic callers to talk to staff members. The web page also communicates events using an events calendar which would otherwise appear on university notice boards. The site uses social media to communicate issues, news and research conferences to students. The preferred social platforms include Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and YouTube. Users can make comments or request information which is the university will be able to respond. The site also provides a contact telephone for local and international students. The web page is also connected to blogs in which the university staff can directly respond to comments and complaints from current and prospective students. Communication 3 3 Connection The web page has a number of links to research news and talk, learning and teaching, engagement, affiliation and events. Some of the links are provided below; Contribution to society www.unimelb.edu.au/research/ www.learningandteaching.unimelb.edu.au www.engage.unimelb.edua.au Enquiries www.futurestudents.unimelb.edu.au/contact Research news and commentary www.upclose.unimelb.edu.au www.newsroom.unimelb.edu.au Research articles www.pursuit.unimelb.edu.au Events www.events.unimelb.edu.au Affiliation www.apru.org www.universitas21.com www.go8.edu.au These links are vital in communicating important events in the university such as research, conferences and events. ANU provides crucial links for students to research and innovation, study programs and scholarships, news and events, and affiliation. The following links are present in the web page; Research and innovation www.anu.edu.au/research/our-research www.anu.edu.au/research/innovation www.anu.edu.au/research/postgraduate-research-students Study programs and scholarships www.anu.edu.au/study/study-options www.anu.edu.au/study/scholarship-fees www.anu.edu.au/study/events News www.anu.edu.au/news www.edu.au/news/for-journalists www.anu.edu.au/news/news-from-the-vc www.anu.edu.au/news/publications-social-media Affiliations and partnerships www.anu.edu.au/about/partnerships/edx www.anu.edu.au/about/partnerships/association-of-pacific-rim-universities www.anu.edu.au/about/partnerships/international-alliance-of-research-universities www.anu.edu.au/about/partnerships/group-of-eight These links easily open or re-direct the user to website of partners. This implies that the users can access additional information apart from what they read and interact with on the website. Connection 4 4 Commerce The university is a publicly funded institution and is not for profit making. Therefore, the site does not directly advertise for online modes of payments such as Mastercard, e-bay or Paypal. However, they encourage students to make online payments especially with regard to virtual or students under online education. ANU, just like the University of Melbourne, is a public institution which is not for profit making. The web page has no obvious links to online payment systems but assumes that the prospective students or current users are able to pay after accessing most of the information they require. Moreover, the institution encourages use of online payments to speed up processing of admissions and on-set of classes. Commerce 2 2 Convergence The webpage is not directly integrated with a mobile or RSS feeds even when view on internet explorer. However, mobile contacts are provided but not active on site. ANU has mobile phone contacts provided but cannot be dialed on the web page. Similarly, there are no RSS feeds detected in web page as observed when the site address is opened using internet explorer. Convergence 1 1 Cross-promotion The university promotes some of its services like research, conferences, publications and editorials. These have been provided in the form of links to the sites. ANU promotes iPhone Node S6 by encouraging its students to re-connect with their alumni. The link to the mobile phone site is; www.anu.edu.au/node/41304. Moreover, the site also promotes music competitions with Whitworth Roach classical music. Cross-promotion 2 3 Compliance The university complies with respect for land property ownership and privacy information provided by an individual or user. In Australian corporate policy and code of conduct, the university complies with the need to offer equal opportunity and treatment of students and staff regardless of age, race, religion, disability or sexual orientation. ANU follows a privacy policy (Privacy Act 1988) in which it uses information for statistical purposes and not to intrude into the privacy of browsers. As observed in the employment code, university offers equal opportunity and treatment of students and staff regardless of age, race, religion, disability or sexual orientation. It also gives users the freedom to offer information without prejudice or discrimination. Compliance 3 3 Currency The website is under regular review and updates with the webpage showing that it was created in 1994 and the latest modifications were done on 19th September 2016. This shows that the website contains up to date information about the institution. ANU has not provided information on dates of website maintenance or other details to show time relevance. However, some events bear current dates which shows that the website communicates recent or ‘yet to occur’ events. Currency 4 3 Corporate The website shows that the institution was started in 1853. Other details include maps, alumni and the first engineers, and online systems providers. The organizational structure is established as the university council. The council consists of student and staff populations and members of the external community. The council is diverse and inclusive and is headed by a woman. The council consists of; chancellor, vice-chancellor, academic board president, 5 governor-in-council appointees, 6 council appointees, 3 council fellows, 1 academic staff and 1 professional staff member, 2 students and the university secretary. Contacts and addresses have also been provided. ANU website shows that the university was established in 1946. It also shows the contacts (telephone, postal and physical addresses) but the maps have to be clicked to display. The university is managed by a 15-member council and a number of committees that advice the council. The university has over 3700 employees. Elections are done for Dean of school, 1 council of professional staff and 2 academic staff members. Corporate 4 4 Corporate responsibility The university offers scholarships to financially weak students with academic prowess. In a bid to achieve ‘sustainable campus’, the web page university focuses on adopting renewable energy sources, minimizing waste occurrence by reducing its waste to land fill. It has adopted a variety of initiatives to decrease water usage on campuses. The web also shows how to improve fair trade, furniture and e-waste, transport, innovation, biodiversity and improvement of campus grounds. This aspect is championed by use of; The Sustainability charts, the sustainability report and The Sustainability Plan 2016-2020. ANU addresses more broadly the ways of improving and managing its social responsibility. First, it supports international students by offering scholarships. Second, it plays a great role in meeting the needs of stakeholders especially the local community and the environment. The website contains a range of themes from energy to water to pollution which the university is keen in addressing. Of particular importance is the Environmental Management Plan which it adopted in 2001 to improve environmental performance. Corporate responsibility 3 4 Investor relations The university produces a number of reports such as Annual investment reports, trust investment reports and reports from consultants. These reports are available as pdf attachments in the site. However, they are not readily accessible until one becomes a member by registering in the website. ANU website has links to pdf attachments showing Annual reports of different years. Users (registered investors) only have to click to open a file of interest. Investor relations 3 3 Marketing mix Product: The University offers educational courses and programs at undergraduate and postgraduate level. There are a number of programs based on faculties/schools and the mode of study shown in the website. Price: Most of the postgraduate programs cover four years and one has to click the tuition fees and accommodation to find out the costs of these academic programs. Distribution: The University has opened 12 residential colleges to reach prospective students and offer programs to current students within reach. Promotion: Besides using the website to promote its academic programs, the university linked the website to social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn to support online advertising. Products: ANU has a functional website that showcases a number of courses, degree and graduate programs. They are grouped in terms of faculties and schools. Price: The relevant departments have a link in the website that shows the amount of fees charged on the various programs alongside their durations. Distribution: The institution has more than 10 colleges and also offers virtual learning to international students. Promotion: The website has been linked to social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and Youtube. There are other links to news channels and blogs that users and prospective students can be able to access more information about the institution. Marketing Mix 3 3 Apps The university website has no apps available. The university website has no apps available. Apps 1 1 Mobile The site is not integrated with a mobile phone but rather a user takes the phone numbers displayed on the site and directly calls the institution. The numbers are provided at the bottom of the web page. Just like University of Melbourne, ANU has provided a number of contacts for future students, media, and security. Again, the user takes the number and dials on their mobile phones or landline. Mobile 1 1 Clicks The web page has between one to three clicks to get to the details. For example, to know the fees charged on bachelor of agriculture program, the user has to click twice. Start with; study>bachelor of agriculture>fees. However, clicking on agribusiness within the same pages as fees re-directs the user to a new tab and web page. In the ANU case, the first click is actually a drop-down menu of which one then clicks twice or thrice to obtain the required web page. The clicks are in obvious positions which make it easier to access more web pages. Clicks 3 3 Rating 1= Not evident 2= Evident, 3=average execution, 4= Superior University of Melbourne Australian National University Domain 4 4 Search engine position 3 2 Condition (situation analysis) 4 2 Business model 3 3 Context 3 2 Content 3 4 Corporate ID and design 2 3 Conventions 3 3 Customer focused 5Is 4 4 Community 4 4 Customization 3 4 Communication 3 3 Connection 4 4 Commerce 2 2 Convergence 1 1 Cross-promotion 2 3 Compliance 3 3 Currency 4 3 Corporate 4 4 Corporate responsibility 3 4 Investor relations 4 4 Marketing mix 3 3 Apps 1 1 Mobile 1 1 Clicks 3 3 Total 74 74 Conclusion The web audit report and rating results above, is based on a number of factors has shown that University of Melbourne has similar web presence compared to Australian National University. Although the former has more physical endowment of financial resources, ANU has employed more funds in enhancing its website to match international standards. Both websites reflect a continued pursuit of excellence and web performance by incorporating conventions and standards in online advertising and promotion. Their strengths in terms of web presence shows that users and more so prospective students find the website more productive and informative to meet their educational needs, and enhance interaction and participation, and benefit the university in terms of market penetration and reach. References Australian National University (2016). About ANU. www.anu.edu.au. Australian National University (2015). Reverse Proxy Login. https://services.anu.edu.au/information-technology/login-access/reverse-proxy-login Australian Universities (2015). Webometrics web rankings. http://australianuniversities.click/rankings/webometrics/ Australian Universities (2016). Australian University Rankings. http://australianuniversities.click/rankings/ Davies, G., O’Brien, L. & McLean, P. (2014). Growing in esteem: Positioning the university of Melbourne in the global knowledge economy. EDUCAUSE. http://www.educause.edu/research-and-publications/books/tower-and-cloud/growing-esteem-positioning-university-melbourne-global-knowledge-economy Lapovsky, L. (2015). The higher education business model: Innovation and financial sustainability. TIAA-CREF Institute. https://www.tiaainstitute.org/public/pdf/higher-education-business-model.pdf. The Melbourne Newsroom, (2012). Melbourne leads Australia in free online education. The University of Melbourne. http://newsroom.melbourne.edu/news/n-913 The University of Melbourne (2016). Welcome to the University of Melbourne. http://www.unimelb.edu.au/ Funnell, A. (2014). Internet of things and cities of the future. ABC News. http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/futuretense/the-internet-of-things-and-the-cities-of-the-future/5899722 Top50Universities, (2016). Australian National University Rankings. http://www.top50universities.org/australian-national-university-ranking/ http://sustainability.anu.edu.au/ http://www.anu.edu.au/ www.coursesearch.unimelb.edu.au/ http://publications.unimelb.edu.au/ http://www.anu.edu.au/about/plans-reviews/annual-report-2014 Read More