Scott Campbell
Assistant Professor of Urban Planning
Taubman College of Architecture and Urban Planning
University Of Michigan		 2000 Bonisteel Blvd.
Ann Arbor MI 48109-2069
sdcamp@umich.edu
office:  3136 A&AB		 (734) 763-2077
(734) 763-2322 (fax)
Office Hours
12/5/2000

A Selection of Architecture and/or Planning Program Web Pages  (page under construction)
Cleveland State University
Columbia University
Cooper Union
Cornell University
Georgia Institute of Technology
Harvard University
Illinois Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Michigan State University
Ohio State University
Parsons School of Design		 Princeton University: Wilson School
Princeton University: Architecture
Rutgers University
Southern California Institute of Architecture
State University of New York at Buffalo
University of California at Berkeley
University of California, Los Angeles:  planning
University of California, Los Angeles:  architecture
University for Cincinnati
University of Illinois at Chicago
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign		 University of Michigan
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
University of Pennsylvania
University of Southern California
University of Texas at Austin
University of Virginia
University of Washington
University of Wisconsin-Madison
University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee
Wayne State University
Yale University

Corrections welcome via email.  A more complete list can be found either through the Association of Collegiate Schools of Planning (ACSP) or the Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture (ACSA).
 

Suggested criteria for comparing web sites:
 
 
Overall Perspective:
Increasingly, prospective students use the web (rather than print materials) to research potential undergraduate and graduate programs.  Like it or not, "you are your web page."   Web surfers increasingly assume that the structure, tone, depth and professionalism of a web site reflects the the structure, tone, depth and professionalism of the college itself.  This may be, in principle, a conflation of an object and its representation, but that is the way of the web world.  As a result, the old model of creating products (text, diagrams, maps, photographs, etc.) in-house, and then passing these materials to a publications department who converts these to "content" and makes them public (first in print, and then web versions based on the print versions), no longer works well in the Age of the Net.   The new model is arguably to see the production of product and the production of web content as parts of the same integrated process.  What is the ramification for designing not just the "look and feel" of a web page, but also its underlying organizational structure?  The old institutional division of labor between those who create product and those who convert the product for public consumption will give way to a decentralized process of uploading content that reflects the decentralized process of creating product.

 
Look and Feel
  • How fast does it load?  (this also affects ease of use)
  • What is the balance between graphics and text, form and content?
  • How does it use photographs?
  • Is the font size ideal? More generally, does the site make the most efficient and yet least cluttered use of screen space?
  • Does the web page look current (i.e., how often is it updated)?
  • Does the page positively reflect a program in architecture and/or planning?  (that is, does it demonstrate expertise in design and organization?)
  • Does the web site work well both for high-speed and modem connections?   for both Netscape and Internet Explorer?
    		•  Ease of Use / Navigation
  • Does the opening home page make the best use of this valuable (visual) space?
  • How many clicks are needed to get to useful pages?
  • Does the format make it easy to print the pages?
  • Can one easily find courses, faculty, email addresses, phone numbers, a map, a building diagram, application materials, research centers, etc?
  • Can one easily find the web page from (a) the university-wide web page;  (b) various search engines;  (c) professional/academic web pages (e.g., ACSA, ACSP)?
  • Can one easily navigate not only vertically through the site structure, but also horizontally (e.g., to go from class to class, or faculty to faculty, without having to retreat too far back up the web hierarchy?)
    		•  Content
  • Are current events (lectures, etc.) posted on the opening page?
  • Can prospective students apply on-line, or at least download application materials (e.g., in pdf format)?
  • Can one see compelling examples of faculty and student research?
  • Are course syllabi on-line?
  • Does the site have a "working paper" series of faculty and student research?
    		•

    In addition, here are some criteria for judging the ease of managing a web site by an academic program, based on the following central question:
     
    How easily and quickly can program faculty and staff add and update content?

    The trick is to find a balance between flexibility and standardization, and between form and content (which, despite interesting visual materials, will remain primarily text).  Ironically, an open architecture approach based on a standardized format and decentralized access will create the best combination of (a) up-to-date content, (b) a standardized look, and (c) the most efficient use of staff time to maintain the web site.  This has several implications:

    Format for Web Pages

  • Does the web site have standardized formatting of font size, type, headers, logos, etc.?  (This will facilitate multiple users adding timely content and still maintaining a consistent look.)
  • Related:  are there standard templates for various types of content (syllabi, curriculum vitae, examples of research, admissions information, program requirements, etc.) allowing for both decentralized uploading of content while maintaining a standardized format?

    •  

     

    Underlying Structure of the Web Site

  • Is the structure of the web site (e.g., its organizational hierarchy ) flexible, logical and intuitive to allow for rapid expansion (due to adding new pages on faculty, student work, faculty work, courses, etc.)?
  • Does the web site use a logical system of urls, so that programs and individuals logically know what the address of a new page should be?
  • Is the underlying html code logical, efficient and stable?
  • Can the site easily handle multiple media (e.g., text, links, maps, photographs, drawings;  and perhaps VRML, Quicktime movies, etc.)?

    •  

     

    Web Site Maintenance

  • Does the structure allow for quick and easy additions of links (e.g., if a new faculty member page or course syllabus page are added, how will the link to the new pages be added?)
  • Does the structure allow for fast corrections of broken links?  (e.g., "page not found")
  • Does the structure allow faculty and staff to clearly know which pages on the web they are responsible for maintaining?