For the first time in Case Western Reserve University history, prospective undergraduates can take part in every aspect of the application process—from researching degree programs to checking their application status and estimating financial aid—from the convenience of a keyboard.

But the most innovative aspect of the undergraduate admission office's new Web site at http://admission.case.edu, according to Vice Provost for Undergraduate Enrollment Chris Munoz, isn't so much that students can retrieve custom information but rather that the university can relay it.

"This site introduces a new approach to Web strategy," Munoz said. "It enables the university to cultivate a one-to-one relationship with online visitors based on their individual interests."

According to Munoz, the highly interactive, "high impact, high outcome" Web site targets a generation of students who use technology to create community. And so far it seems to be working.

Launched in September—which is late in a college choice process that students usually begin in March—the new Web site already has garnered a group of nearly 1,000 registered users in just its first month. And about 750 students out of those 1,000 have started the application process online.

"Considering we are getting a late start in the process and have not promoted or marketed the new site, these early results are very encouraging," Munoz said.

The new database-driven Web site utilizes cutting-edge "push" technology to drive online content based on individual students' preferences. This personalized approach appears not just in name recognition on the homepage, where the activation of cookies can allow a browser to acknowledge a user's login, but also in the information on the individual's site. A user's homepage is not made up of portals but rather features news stories; student, faculty and alumni profiles; and other information specifically tailored to his or her activities and interests.

And those categories aren't just general. A student can choose not just music but a cappella music or not just environmental studies but environmental geology-and change his or her interests anytime.

With these new capabilities, the admission office also can send customized e-mail messages to users to prompt them to revisit the Web site. But it isn't forsaking print or face-to-face communications.

Munoz said brochures and viewbooks will become more supplemental, but a personal visit to campus remains the most important factor in a student's college choice process.

"One of the main purposes of the technology is to encourage and support a persons' decision to visit campus," he said.

Although prospective undergraduates can let their fingers do the walking and take a virtual tour, the new site also allows them easily to schedule a trip to Case. In the first month of the new site, hundreds of students already have requested campus visits online.

Other new elements on the Web site include a special section on experiential learning, banner ads for the SAGES program and additional information on University Circle partnerships.

"This new site allows us to use the Web and technology to better address the cornerstones of the university's vision," Munoz said.

The site also features services for guidance counselors and rotating survey questions, one of which asks users their impressions of the new site. A recent tally showed more than 55 percent of respondents think the site is "awesome."

Return to the online edition of the 10-16-03 Campus News.