USI site critique

alright so the USI website....
Good

• I think the site shows easy navigation from the start
• The pictures at the top are eye catching
• the colors stand out and come from the schools logo

Bad

• After the first page the navigation gets really confusing
• I Think the my usi link could stand out a bit more from the usual links on the left.
• The tool bar on top is awkward in almost every since and changes through out the site.

Over all i think the site works for what it needs to. most the time if your looking for something on the site if u go to the search bar and type in exactly what you want you'll find it within the first 3 options. Most the time i dont waste my time searching through links in a toolbar anyways, but maybe thats a common problem in which to improve....

So if anything the navigation could be a bit more simple and then the details in appeal could be more consistent.

I don't think the page should look like a commercial entertainment site at all. Its a school so academics should be the main focus. Academics can look like fun it doesnt have to be all work.

It sorta makes me laugh a little when i look at the liberal arts page to the usi site. Since most art students fall under the liberal arts school one would think that it would be full of art work and have a really fancy site. Complete opposite it true here. the site is almost the plainest of all. The most that is on this site is a banner that is a montage of pictures of the school but that's it, that's as art like as it gets. Then its all links and white space from there. Very disappointing.

One university site i found that was very easy to go through was the Harvard site. I know Harvard of course it will look nice and flow easy. Sometimes you never know though, but still what i liked was that it had a front page that was right to the point. it almost seemed like a gateway to me but it had drop menus to all the different school and offices and had a link to the latest news on the school plus a slide show showing the academic appeal along with activities involved in the school. Its a good site for a great school.

I Think that today when high school kids are looking for a school to go to or visit before graduating they look at the web site first. The website is the first impression. If the site is easy to handle then it will be a good step into the door for the student to feel more comfortable making that school an option. Right now i think USI's site is appealing but not too easy to work with but with some little touch ups it could be a great site for a great school