College-bound students flock to universities’ mobile websites

Technologists suggest reconsidering web development strategies in light of a recent survey

By Dennis Carter, Assistant Editor
Read more by Denny Carter

Only one in 10 campuses have a mobile website.

A surge in the percentage of recent high school graduates who use smart phones to research colleges and universities could turn campus web development on its head.

Colleges’ mobile sites, once considered experimental by campus leaders, could take priority over traditional websites, and soon.

Fifty-two percent of prospective college students said they had viewed a school’s website on a mobile device in 2011—more than double the percentage from 2010. And 48 percent of those students said the mobile site experience bettered their view of the campus, according to a survey conducted by higher-education consulting company Noel-Levitz and the National Research Center for College & University Admissions.

Two percent of student respondents said their mobile site perusing hurt their perception of the college or university.

Only 4 percent of students who used a mobile device to view a college’s site used a tablet.

Read the full story on eCampus News