UB's Online Undergraduate Catalog Receives High Marks for Usability, Structure

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- The University at Buffalo's online undergraduate catalog has been named as one of the best in the country by a respected Internet marketing company focused on higher education.

UB's online undergraduate catalog was one of six recognized by .eduGuru for "really [setting] the bar for how to create a nicely usable catalog." In particular, UB's online undergraduate catalog was cited for ease of navigation.

The website notes that "examples of 'good' catalogs are few and far between" in part because of the difficulties of making a print document effective online, particularly one of the largest, most important documents that a university publishes.

UB's online undergraduate catalog has overcome the most prevalent obstacles.

"The core navigation is exceptionally simple, and the information is well structured," the website says. "They have also integrated actual tools like course search right into the site, rather than just doing a cut-and-paste job from a print document. They also have fairly simple access to archived PDF versions of past catalogs."

A. Scott Weber, vice provost and dean for undergraduate education, praised the numerous members of the university community who worked on the online undergraduate catalog for providing such an important service to UB's students.

"Many UB faculty and staff contributed to the online catalog's success by providing advice, feedback and content suggestions to the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education and our Office of Web Services, lead by Mark Greenfield," he said. "I would like to sincerely thank all those who helped make UB's undergraduate catalog website a leader in this important area."

To learn more about the selection process, go to http://doteduguru.com/id5549-online-cataloging-done-right.html.

The University at Buffalo is a premier research-intensive public university, a flagship institution in the State University of New York system and its largest and most comprehensive campus. UB's more than 28,000 students pursue their academic interests through more than 300 undergraduate, graduate and professional degree programs. Founded in 1846, the University at Buffalo is a member of the Association of American Universities.