“Thou shall know your target audiences” is definitely on the 10-commandement list of any good web higher ed professional.
Although most of us were once college students – one of the main target audiences of university websites, this was probably a few years – or decades, in some cases – ago.
That’s why studies and other surveys about prospective and current students can be so useful to back up your design decisions or new web initiatives.
Millions of freshmen – the first Net Generation representatives – have now found their ways to our institutions. But do you have any idea about the mindset of this Class of 2009?
Since 1998 Beloit College has provided its faculty and staff with a very useful list that answers this exact question: Beloit College’s Mindset List ®.
“Each August, as students start to arrive, Beloit College releases the Beloit College Mindset List, which offers a world view of today’s entering college students. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Director of Public Affairs Ron Nief,” states the Beloit College online press release.
This year’s list provides 75 fun facts about the North-American Class of 2009 and its mindset, a list definitely worth sharing with faculty and staff on your campus for a quick and easy reality-check about this year’s college freshmen.
According to Beloit College’s Director of Public Affairs, “This is not serious in-depth research. It is meant to be thought-provoking and fun, yet accurate. It is as relevant as possible, given the broad social and geographic diversity of our students, who are drawn from every state and 50 countries. It is always open to challenge, which has an additional benefit in that it reminds us of students’ varied backgrounds. It is still a good reflection of the attitudes and experiences of the young people that we must be aware of from the first day of their college experience.”
And, if you are from Down Under, the good news is that Massey University in New Zealand has launched its own localized version of the Mindset List®.
