From the Nominator

"USF redesigned the usfca.edu marketing website in 2022. The previous website was five years old and in need of updated designs, new functionality and features, fresh content, improved accessibility, and a content management system upgrade.  

Our primary audience is prospective students. We sought to improve navigation pathways and provide clear distinctions for undergraduate vs. graduate content. Our viewers are now primarily on mobile devices, so we wanted a fully featured, responsive site with usability parity to a desktop experience. New content features include better ways to tell the USF story, highlight our uniqueness, and spotlight outcomes for alumni.   

From a technology standpoint, we aimed to improve web accessibility and upgrade to Drupal 9. The Drupal upgrade was necessary for desired integrations with our online catalog, admission RFI forms, and events from several sources.  

USF mobilized internal marketing resources for this project and partnered with an external agency specializing in higher education website redesigns. The results are a dynamic, impactful, visually stunning website with large photography, integrated video, student testimonials, and tools that show rather than tell our story. We implemented GA4 to track behavior across site components. To increase application visibility, we implemented sticky apply and RFI buttons, persistent at the top of every program page.   

For fall 2023 recruitment, engagement with the site was at an all-time high. Our top visited pages include the program finder and program sites. We can track activity from the website into our Slate CRM and see increased traffic to RFI forms."

From the Judges

A really nice website, with strong strategy underpinning. Judges could tell that they really thought about the user experience. Good color palette choice. And the program finder is a great tool.