December 11, 2019
SEM update on marketing online programs and new web presence
Submitted by Karen Pedersen and Jeff Morris
The new year will bring a new look and focus to how Kansas State University promotes online programs. As part of our Strategic Enrollment Management initiative, online programs will be marketed using a newly designed website under the brand K-State Online. The new website design uses a mobile-first approach and is optimized for search and accessibility.
In a change from the past, all online programs, regardless of campus of origin, will be visible through the new K-State Online website. We will formally launch online.k-state.edu in early January. You may recognize this web address as it was formerly used for our learning management system. The URL became available with the adoption of Canvas.
In spring 2019, the university made a strategic investment in a redesign of our online presence as one of several marketing/communications initiatives. The goal was to transform the Global Campus website and in tandem, develop templates for the university's content management system, or CMS, to benefit the entire campus community.
While Global Campus will be the first unit to launch a website in the new CMS template, there is a plan to rollout the new templates to colleges and other major units in the coming months. Communicators and web team members from throughout the university are already involved in these efforts.
The new web presence is just one SEM initiative designed to better serve our prospective students. The ability to more easily navigate our website and obtain better search results directly supports increased marketing efforts and will tie into our new CRM system.
This collaborative effort was led by a combined team from Global Campus and the Division of Communications and Marketing, who worked with an outside consultant to create a research-informed strategy for the new web templates. We want to acknowledge the many hours of hard work and exemplary effort this team has expended.
Global Campus will retain a website where other functions such as conference management services and faculty resources will remain. This is a time of major change in our marketing approach and we appreciate your continued support.
Sincerely,
Karen Pedersen
Dean of Global Campus
Jeff Morris
Vice president for communications and marketing