Surrounded by vineyards, lush ranges, and flourishing landscapes, resides Sonoma State University. Throughout what has felt like the longest year, all CSU’s made the shift to an online education, transitioning all forms of instruction and communication virtual. Sonoma State’s host website then became crucial for all interested in the campus.
Throughout the year, students and faculty have found themselves using the school’s website much more frequently. The first thing visible on the homepage are large photos and gifs of the campus. Sonoma State’s website has done a wonderful job portraying the beauty of campus and our diverse SSU community, but what lacks is organization and updated designs throughout the website–not just on the homepage. Additionally, on a deeper level, the website seems to be missing the same intrigue that the SSU community has in-person, the thing that makes students want to come to school here.
As students attempt to navigate the website to find helpful documents like the campus map, cafeteria hours, and building information, sometimes the journey leaves students confused.
“During my freshman year, I used the Sonoma State website to find my classes, and at first it was a bit difficult to navigate throughout the pages to find what I was looking for,” said Sophomore Jewel Frias.
Navigating the website can become tricky, especially with older information and links appearing higher up in the search engine than newer ones.
When trying to find specific information on the website, some students prefer to use Google, because it is more efficient than the school’s search engine. The one on SSU’s website tends to bring up information from many years’ prior, leaving students confused as to where the updated and new information is.
Fortunately, a new creative feature has been implemented, that being the SeawolfChat. “Lobo,” the personal AI was created to guide visitors throughout the website. This component is truly helpful, and it would benefit SSU to implement new features like this throughout the entirety of the website.
Another new aspect of the website showcases accomplishments and creativity. Apart from the main page news, are updated “Spotlights,” which broadcast accomplishments throughout departments at Sonoma State.
Dean of Arts and Humanities Hollis Robbins, noticed all the brilliant accomplishments that were happening throughout the university, so Robbins came up with the idea to display these accomplishments online.
“One of my first initiatives was called ‘outward facing excellence,’ and I asked all of the department chairs to add a spotlight section to their department pages to feature special accomplishments,” said Robbins. Students seeking some inspiration, or who maybe want to read about what peers are up to, can now easily find this.
The SSU website and those who are updating it seem to be moving in the right direction. The implementation of the new Lobo chat feature, department spotlights, and animated gifs of students on campus are slowly bringing the website to life, but much work still needs to be done.
As the SSU website continues to be the main link between students and the school, especially during this highly virtual moment in history, timely updates and new features are crucial. The website should bring comfort to students and be easier to navigate, show new students what they could experience, and be full of information about the school and each department. It should be intriguing enough to make people want to explore more of it, and it should give viewers an accurate sense of the SSU community and what is so great about it.
We students see a lot of promise in our website, but also know that it could use a great deal of work and attention.
