NEW HIGHLANDS.EDU PREVIEW – LAUNCH DATE SET FOR JULY 1

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New Highlands.edu Preview – Launch date set for July 1

As a courtesy to the GHC family, we invite all employees to explore our new and improved website, which is set to launch Friday, July 1. As the primary marketing tool for GHC, the focus of the new website design is to enhance recruitment, retention, marketing, and to have a content-rich website that continues to develop based on usage analytics and data. The web design team has worked both internally and with an outside agency to transform the new highlands.edu homepage and over 129 additional top level pages.

Please read this completely before clicking the preview link at the bottom.

NEW FEATURES INCLUDE:

  1. Mobile Friendly Design
  2. Clean, Uncluttered Content
  3. Improved Navigation
  4. Quick Access to Information – Essential information and features by audience type: Future Student, Current Student, Faculty/Staff, Alumni/Community
  5. Available Areas of Study – Future students will now have the option to view and explore each area of study GHC has to offer, including information on the area itself, a list of potential career options, a link to a recommended sequence of courses tailored for each specific area (that guides students down a two-year completion track), a link to the specific department and more.
  6. Questions Answered – Future students can learn more about GHC within a “future student” hub, where questions like “How do I pay for college?” and “What’s it like to attend?” are quickly and easily answered.
  7. Apply in a Flash – When future students are ready to apply, they are given the option to choose between a number of different student types, including “high school students,” “adult learners,” and so on. Each student type has been given a custom page where students only see the information relevant to how they need to apply. From there, future students can easily begin the application process all online.
  8. We Are GHC – testimonial page where you can read stories and watch video testimonials from students, alumni, faculty, staff and friends of the college.
  9. Tools for Success – Current students no longer have to wonder where all the tools they need at their fingertips are located. Everything current students need can be found in a single hub, which allows students to access their email, billing information, D2L accounts and more.
  10. How-to Videos – Short videos have been placed around the site to make the experience more engaging.
  11. Need Help? – The “GHC 411” button is part of the top menu and also appears at the bottom of every page.

HELPFUL TIPS: These tips walk you through navigating the new homepage…

TOP MENU BAR:

  • For a short time, the “Former Highlands.edu” button will be available. This is simply to help during the transition.
  • Quick links button expands at the top of the page. These are frequently visited items.
  • Under Quick links, you will notice we have added a NEW A-Z Index – here you will find any and all items alphabetically. This list will continue to grow.
  • Social media icons give direct links to our official social media pages.
  • Search icon will allow you to search both the old and new highlands.edu
  • The second row of top menu items are much like a front door and are listed by audience. The menu items contained under those top items generally pertain to that audience’s need.

SCROLLING IMAGES:

  • This feature is the same as our old website and will highlight key areas we are currently marketing or top news stories.

1-2-3 SECTION:

  • Geared toward new visitors to the website, this 1-2-3 feature helps potential students navigate our website and easily learn more about GHC.

1 – Get started leads students to an inquiry form for more information

2 – Explore GHC explains all the great opportunities and provides quick access to our areas of study

3 – One click access to apply to GHC by student type

MIDDLE SECTION OF HOMEPAGE:

  • The “We are GHC” feature will change periodically to feature our student and employee stories. Click on the link to go to a full list of feature stories and videos including the “We Are GHC” kick off video.
  • Welcome video from the president and direct links to student life and athletics.

NEWS and ANNOUNCEMENTS SECTION:

  • Here you will find the latest news headlines and announcements with links to view all.

MAP and FOOTER SECTION:

  • The new locator map features points showing all our locations with direct links to get directions.
  • The footer includes a list of administration divisions, helpful resource links and more information.
  • Need Help? GHC 411 button is at the bottom and will appear at the bottom of all the pages.

IMPORTANT NOTE:

The launch of this new site will be the first phase of many for Georgia Highlands College in transforming its website into a user-friendly, informative, and fun tool for everyone to use. Subsequent phases will continue to add new features and functions to the site to continue this mission. As you navigate the new website preview link below, you will notice that beyond the 130 new top-level pages many of the current webpages still exist. We will begin transitioning the rest of the pages as we move forward.

UPDATING WEBSITE INFORMATION:

While it is imperative to assure that all the information on the new website is accurate and up-to-date, please note that any and all updates to new or existing highlands.edu from this day forward (until otherwise notified) should be sent directly to webmaster@highlands.edu , so we can assure that the changes are made consistently during this transition.

As we move forward, the web design team will begin strategically working with each area of the college to transform their current webpages to the new design and will work with their website designee to provide training on how to update information for your specific area.

It is important to note that we will only be making critical information updates to the newly designed pages prior to the July 1 launch. Critical information updates may include but are not limited to:

  • broken links
  • outdated information on the new pages
  • content inconsistencies
  • unresponsive buttons or features

If you have any critical information updates, please send your request immediately towebmaster@highlands.edu.

PREVIEW LINK:

This is a PREVIEW LINK ONLY and for INTERNAL USE ONLY. Please do not share this link externally as the address will change on July 1 and not be effective after that date.

http://newweb.highlands.edu/