Best and first for new UCOL web site

Best and first for new UCOL web site

UCOL wanted only the best for its new web site – including the best young designer.

General Manager of Student Recruitment, Mark Lockwood, says the choice was a no-brainer.

“We chose a top graduate from our own Bachelor of Applied Visual Imaging programme. How could we go wrong? How many other tertiary institutes can say one of their graduates designed their website? We can!”

The chosen graduate, graphic designer Greg Mackay, says designing the UCOL site was a great job. “I’m committed to work that contributes to the development and growth of young people. Designing the UCOL site was right in line with that”.

As well as hiring a star graduate, Mark Lockwood says UCOL went to great lengths to ensure they got it right. “They did research, including focus groups, to find out the needs of the customer – and found they wanted a cleaner, simpler, easier to navigate site with enough relevant and useful information on programmes to allow them to make a decisions from their keyboard.”

He says the new site can also claim some other firsts:

“We give visitors four different ways to search for programmes, including the impressive visual slide sorter. To our knowledge, we are the first tertiary institute in the world to do this.

“We also offer - live web chat with our Customer Services staff and a 360 degree pan of facilities at UCOL. Perhaps best of all, potential students can watch videos of classes in action and check out the work that current student are doing.

“This is using the available new technology to the max!” says Mark.

The site also provides information on what UCOL graduates have gone on to achieve and includes class timetable, news and events and a campus webcam. “The list of innovative new features is very long,” says Mark. “We believe this gives us the jump on all other New Zealand tertiary institutions.”

To check out the action, go www.ucol.ac.nz

Greg Mackay

Greg graduated from UCOL in 2007, top of his class for the new Bachelor of Applied Visual Imaging programme. He says he chose UCOL because the BAVI programme provided more hands-on experience than others. “It also had more lecturer contact, smaller class sizes and UCOL was in Palmerston North, the city I call home.”

He says the programme helped him to develop as a designer “who didn't just create pretty pictures, but understood the client and audiences needs, and had a theoretical and conceptual base behind my work.”

During his study he worked for the Refugee Services Aoteaoa, as part of his research project and as a volunteer for the Tertiary Students Christian Fellowship. After graduating he worked for the web design company Getnet. He is now full time with the Fellowship, based in Wellington, as a graphic designer and mentor for students who want to know more about Christianity.

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