Visual storytelling levels the playing field for prospective college students during the search process. I offer this sentiment as a first-generation college graduate who navigated the process mostly on his own, and an Associate Dean who still works with this population.
I often visit college websites to see how easy it is to find pertinent information about financial aid (since many first-generation students come from working class households), housing (because I’m curious to see what specifics of the boarding experience are mentioned), internships (to see how opportunities are accessed beyond the classroom), and other topics that a first-generation student may want to learn more about.
I am fully aware that most prospective students want to learn about the many ways that they can benefit from attending a particular institution. However, the student whose parent(s), or caretaker(s), graduated from college has an advantage in that they have a resource at home who can fill in the blanks and answer the litany of questions that may arise. The first-generation student, on the other hand, may not have that luxury of informed assistance at home, or even at school, so it’s essential for colleges and universities to consider how to accommodate their need for detailed information during the college search.
I’m a big proponent of intentional use of the home page to promote key components of the student experience and utilizing video to do so. I was curious to see how many colleges utilize videos that are deemed popular by students I’ve encountered over the years to promote aspects of the experience, so I visited a number of websites to see if they effectively utilize audiovisual components on the homepage and different landing pages. Interestingly, only a couple of schools stood out.
Seeing and Hearing are Believing
Example: A large, comprehensive, research university
The homepage features a video of students who have developed an innovative tool that tracks air pollution. It’s the first visual element on the homepage. After clicking the video, I was led to another page where I could watch it in full, and learn more about this really cool project which was collaborative, informative, and unique. I especially appreciated that the video was concise. The story would have been even more effective had the students spoken briefly about how they were able to undertake such a project, but the video was still captivating and straightforward. It also wasn’t hard to find on the homepage.
Example: A nationally acclaimed, liberal arts college
I was immediately greeted by a very vibrant video on the homepage that included a racially diverse cast of students engaged in various aspects of the student experience. At the forefront of the video was a powerful statement, presented visually, that read, “We’re the ones who break barriers, build bridges, and shift paradigms.” It was brief, yet powerful. However, there was no audio. Still, it was deeply resonant and set the tone for an awesome web experience that successfully incorporated colorful adjectives and numbers to tell a story about the college. Upon scrolling further down the page, there were a couple of vibrant “day in the life of” videos that were less than two minutes long, offering just enough information for a prospective student to be intrigued.
Analysis
Both videos amplified a core component of the student experience. Students could see the experience instead of reading about it, and they didn’t have to look too far for it. One of the schools I looked at had a video of graduation featured at the bottom of the home page. While graduation is the goal, I think it’s more important to help students see what they can experience at the institution, especially when they are unfamiliar with all that higher education entails. A video should inspire curiosity about the experience, and offer answers about it. This a very important consideration for all students, namely those who are first-generation.
Equitable Consideration
Additionally, I think all colleges and universities would benefit from including an optional video before the homepage is accessed, or on the homepage, that briefly explains how to browse the site when it’s initially accessed. We assume that most people can figure out how to find what they’re looking for on a complex institutional website. But, if an optional introduction on how to navigate and get the most out of the site were included, a first-generation student, and/or their caretakers are more easily enabled to have a better web experience, because of this thoughtful feature.
