The Louisiana Board of Regents revealed a new website and discussed a social media platform Wednesday afternoon in the Claiborne Building in downtown Baton Rouge.
Three members from the board, Lance Neal, Louise Flavin and Jared Avery, dominated the meeting with a presentation that drew out the group’s plans for the future, which included a new approach to social media through an updated website.
Neal noted how the board intends to change the current website to have a more fluid layout.
“What we want to do is implement something that will give us something a little more up-to-date [compared to the old Board of Regents website] that will have some moving pieces and parts, and we have the ability to update it more,” Neal said.
The board’s new website, regents.la.gov, includes a banner that can be updated on a regular basis, as well as categorized banners for easy scrolling for anyone who interacts with it. Social media has also been integrated into the new website, as a new Facebook page and Youtube page are being added.
Press releases, presentations and a multimedia center are all available to use. One area of the site Neal emphasized is the data publications section, which lays out “enrollment information, graduation rates, completions and academic programs that are approved.”
Another goal of the board is to help researchers and communicators use new strategies to better relay their messages to both the media and the general public.
“My goal is to help researchers specifically break down their message,” Flavin said. “They’re known for using very technical jargon that is kind of hard for the average person to understand. This way, they’ll be able to break some of those barriers between researchers and the public.”
Flavin went on to show a three-minute video that helped explain several of the talking points of the board, and the video will be available on the Board of Regents website at a later date.
Avery later took his turn at the podium, stating that the current generation of Americans is looking toward college education at record numbers.
Because of this, he noted that several steps need to be taken to help these future students achieve success in higher education.
“First, it implies that a significant proportion of students … have the ability and also the willingness to pursue a degree in higher education,” Avery said. “Secondly, it implies an even greater amount of resources are needed to help these students develop plans to have success in college. Thirdly, it implies that even greater attention must be given toward helping students complete certificates of degrees while going to college.”
With this, the new “Geaux to College” campaign will help students connect to officials and find resources.
Other aspects of the website include a student financial resource page and information provided by the U.S. Department of Education. Students can use the site to retrieve information regarding different Louisiana universities, and parents and guardians can also use the site for their own benefits.
Board of Regents plans website redesign
By Lawrence Barreca
June 26, 2013