Higher Education Strategy Web Design

13 Microsites Designed to do One Thing: Recruit Students

A college campus building at dusk

By Andrés Zapata \ August 8, 2017

Sometimes in higher education there are forces with competing priorities. Just sometimes, though. The stronger those forces are, the harder it is to create a website that works the best a website could.

For example, there are some universities where research, patient care and education compete with one another. Sometimes, alumni and trustees are the ones with the power and the website needs to cater to them… or there will be hell to pay. And speaking of pay, sometimes the advancement folks have the biggest gravity and they win.

So, what happens when all these forces are stronger than the internal equity and power you have to advance the mission you were hired to champion: enrollment? If the battle is not one that you can win, you must pick your battles and let the main website be what it needs to be. Then, you create a recruitment microsite that’s jacked up with SEO, user experience techniques (animations, video, data visualization, etc), and you point your recruitment efforts (paid media, brochures, email signatures, etc.) to it.

[Not knowing the reasons why these schools created them] here are some compelling admissions/recruitment microsites to stimulate your creativity and possibility.

Union College, Think Union

http://think.union.edu/

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Mount Saint Mary’s Admissions

http://admissions.msmary.edu/

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Northeastern, Picture Yourself Here

http://www.northeastern.edu/pictureyourselfhere/

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Washington State University Admissions

https://admission.wsu.edu/

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University of Arizona Admissions

https://admissions.arizona.edu/

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University of Maryland Admissions

https://www.admissions.umd.edu/

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University of Virginia Admissions

http://admission.virginia.edu/

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Notre Dame College of Arts and Letters

https://al.nd.edu/

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Texas Christian University Admissions

https://admissions.tcu.edu/

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Wesley College Admissions

http://admissions.wesley.edu/

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Southeastern Illinois University Admissions

http://admissions.siu.edu/

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Arizona State University online

Microsite

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Tufts University Admissions

http://admissions.tufts.edu/

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Andrés Zapata
Founder
Andrés Zapata
Founder

Andrés isn’t like most founders. He’s responsible for the operations and direction of idfive, but he’s also the door-always-open, huevos-rancheros-making leader who’ll help you when the wifi isn’t working. A lifetime learner and multifaceted professional, Andrés has nearly 30 years of experience leading projects for clients in various industries. He believes in the power of research and data to create something beautiful that can do something good.