Anschutz Medical Campus launches website
The site is designed primarily to reach our external audience -- to excite and inform people about CU Anschutz -- and to serve the informational needs of our faculty, staff and students. The colorful and useful landing page will further elevate the profile of the nation's newest health sciences city.
Visit the site here.
Lilly Marks, vice president of health affairs at the University of Colorado and executive vice chancellor of the Anschutz Medical Campus, said the new website will help tell the story of the Anschutz Medical Campus.
"This website is a new electronic front door to the Anschutz Medical Campus. Our electronic communications must reflect how our internal and external communities get information today, as well as being up-to-date and relevant," Marks said. "Our web presence is one tool that will continuously evolve to meet those needs, just as our research and clinical enterprises and education programs do."
Neil Krauss, director of administration, said the website grew out of a discussion with internal audiences about the targeted needs of the stakeholders at the Anschutz Medical Campus.
"The new website was developed collaboratively with representatives from all schools and colleges, faculty leaders and administration," Krauss said.
The working group involved in the site's development included the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor for the campus and the communications directors from the campus's six schools and colleges. University Web Services led the design and implementation of the site, and University Communications provided project support. The school and college deans and chair of faculty assembly provided input and approval of the site's initial design concept.
"This website is an enormous step forward to meet the current and changing needs of potential professional health students and applicants for faculty appointments as well as our faculty, staff and current students," Krauss said.
Visitors are encouraged to complete a short satisfaction survey in the first few weeks after launch. University Web Services will review this feedback and incorporate it into the site.
Jeremy Fulbright, director of Online Marketing and Web Development Services, said a similar new website is in the works for the Denver Campus, geared toward its audiences and unique needs. Work will begin after University Web Services has reviewed and implemented initial feedback from the new Anschutz Medical Campus site.
Here are FAQs about the new CU Anschutz website, prepared by University Web Services and University Communications:
Why does the Anschutz Medical Campus need a separate site?
Our university is large and complex, with diverse numerous constituencies; therefore, a single homepage cannot satisfy all of our needs. Creating a website specifically for the Anschutz Medical Campus is the first step toward improving homepage usability by segmenting visitors and driving them to sub-sites with tailored designs, content and navigation. In addition to the Anschutz website, future projects to enhance the university homepage include a Denver Campus website, as well as sub-sites tailored to faculty and staff, current students and prospective students.
What are the goals of the Anschutz website?
A successful website balances user needs with business objectives. After reviewing peer websites, user feedback, audience survey results and website analytics, the working group identified and prioritized the following website objectives:
- Share the mission, vision, values and leadership of CU Anschutz.
- Recruit outstanding research faculty to campus.
- Attract diverse and high-performing students to campus.
- Draw patients to health care services and facilities both on and off campus.
- Educate visitors and prospective faculty and students about the appeal of the campus.
- Help current faculty and current students find the tools and resources they need.
Who is the Anschutz website for?
The Anschutz website is designed primarily to be an “outward-facing” site, catering to an external audience—to welcome them, excite them and inform them about CU Anschutz. This targeted external audience consists of prospective faculty and researchers, prospective funders and investors and prospective students, as well as patients and clinical trial participants. Additional audiences served by the landing page include current students and current faculty members and staff.
What is the strategy behind the design of the Anschutz website?
The Anschutz website design theme was thoughtfully created by University Web Services to express the values, ambitions and characteristics of the CU brand while differentiating the Anschutz Medical Campus as a leader in patient care, research and education. University Web Services selected a color scheme that is well established and instantly recognizable as representing a health or medical entity:
- Green indicates safety and is commonly used for advertising medical products.
- Light blue is associated with health and healing.
- White means safety, purity and cleanliness and is associated with hospitals, doctors and sterility.
- Vibrant pinks have the same high energy as red, encourage action and are recognized as a symbol of hope and awareness.
Many health-related organizations use this color scheme, and many of our school and colleges use similar secondary colors in their websites and marketing materials.
How was the content developed for the Anschutz website?
The working group participated in a series of discovery meetings, led by University Web Services, to identify the goals and target audiences of the site. The group inventoried the information needed to meet the goals of the site, as well as the needs of each audience. Items inventoried include links to existing sites such as schools, colleges and units; how to apply to a job or academic program; ways to find a clinician or researcher; and particulars like campus maps and a directory. The group created content to communicate and reinforce the distinctive attributes of CU Anschutz—the quality, dedication and contributions of community members, as well as up-to-date news and accomplishments.
Content on the site will be updated by University Communications on a regular basis in coordination with the Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor and the communications directors from the campus’s six schools and colleges. Since the site is a living and evolving communication and information tool, feedback on the site from campus-wide stakeholders is desired and can be provided through the “Website Feedback” link in the footer of every page. University Web Services will regularly monitor website analytics and integrate that information with user feedback to improve the site and its services.
How will the Anschutz website be managed moving forward?
Websites shouldn’t be thought of as static pages redesigned every couple of years. They should rapidly evolve as the web and our organization changes. In other words, this site isn’t complete. It is only the beginning. Visitors are encouraged to complete a short satisfaction survey in the first few weeks after launch. University Web Services will review this feedback and incorporate it into the site. Website analytics and feedback received through the “Website Feedback” link in the footer will also be monitored regularly and used to continuously improve the site.
Will there be a Denver Campus equivalent?
Yes. Like the Anschutz Medical Campus, the Denver Campus has audiences with unique needs that will benefit from tailored design, content and navigation. University Web Services and University Communications will begin working on the Denver Campus website once initial feedback from the new Anschutz site has been reviewed and implemented.