January 15, 2009
Ball State's Web site continues to bring home honors with its recent distinction of Site of the Year for North America as named by its content management system provider.
Since its launch in 2007 with Sitecore, a leading national provider of content management system software, Ball State's online initiatives have been recognized by numerous collegiate and online organizations. The Web site has won four prestigious awards and played a key role in a nearly 40 percent growth in student applications over three years.
"Sitecore is the perfect fit for Ball State. With it, we are able to develop and maintain thousands of pages managed by hundreds of content providers across campus while still sustaining a consistent brand that succeeds in telling our story to various audiences," said Julie Tuttle, Ball State's Web managing editor.
Sitecore judges considered creativity, user experience and the Web site's ability to educate when determining Ball State as its North American award winner.
Tom Taylor, Ball State's vice president for enrollment, marketing and communications, said Sitecore has been invaluable to the university's commitment to delivering a distinct and consistent brand experience for its students.
Other recent recognitions of the Web site include:
- eduStyle award for Best Overall Site of the Year, as determined by a panel of judges surveying collegiate Web sites throughout the United States. The Ball State Web site was also nominated for Best Redesign and Best Home Page.
- collegewebeditor.com award for Best Student Blog
- Official Webby Honoree for 2008, making the site eligible for an award at the Webby Awards — the leading international award for Internet excellence
- Circle of Excellence Award — Silver Medal, in the Complete Institutional Web Site category, from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE)
- Award of Merit in the Internet/Web site category, from the Admissions Advertising Awards, given by the Admissions Marketing Report.