A lot of prospective freshman will visit this webpage to learn about the major. If they are choosing to major in animal sciences because they “love animals,” then the webpage does a good job catering to that. It features a scrolling picture banner of cute farm animals interacting with people. A lot of current students will also visit this page and unfortunately there is no direct links to major requirements, research opportunities, job openings, etc.. Thus, for current students, the page is lacking. There is however, a big dark red “Give Now” button so obviously the department is emphasizing donations. On the bright side, the contact information is very accessible so further information should be easy to acquire. This might be a strategy for get prospective students to invest more energy and actually talk to someone in the department
]]>About scholarships, I am easily able to find descriptions of the various FST scholarships available, but I can’t find anywhere to apply for them or information regarding deadlines. Finding the faculty wasn’t difficult, but I definitely think that Linda Granata’s information should be much more accessible, seeing as how she is the head of the department.
Another gripe I have with this website is finding information regarding the FST minor. If I look at undergraduate information and those options, no where does it even mention that a minor is offered. As someone who is pursuing that path, having information and links to resources (like checksheets) would be very helpful.
]]>One of the more frustrating features about this website is the fact that there is no clear link to a page for prospective and current students. In order to get to the page with this information I had to go through several links and pages with the hope that I would end up at a page with this information.
Ultimately, as long as the right links are clicked on the right pages, you can find any information that you might need as a current or prospective student. I definitely believe that this page could be better built to make information easier to find.
]]>I think that people visit the webpage to learn more about the Civil Department and the different branches in Civil Engineering. The webpage would provide information for prospective high school students as well as current Virginia Tech students trying to decide on their major. People would also visit the site to find information on civil advisors, descriptions of civil courses, and civil checksheets for graduation.
I think that the webpage does provide all the information that people would go there looking for. However it showcases news and articles on department achievements instead of providing easy access to the information most people visit the site looking for. Overall, I think that it is important to acknowledge the accomplishments of the department and the webpage does provide links to a lot of relevant information so it does a good job of meeting the needs of its audience.
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