Introduction
An important goal of the Department of Educational Technology (EDTECH) at Boise State University is to systematically increase enrollment of students in the program. The department currently offers five degrees: a Master of Science in educational technology, a Master of Education in educational technology, and three certificate degrees: technology integration, online teaching, and school technology coordination. Since the program is delivered entirely online, the potential for attracting new students is vast, yet also competitive. For instance, the number of online degrees has been dramatically increasing, from about 50 in 1989 to over 1100 today (GetEducated.com; Peterson’s Distance Learning). Universities across the country, as well as entirely virtual universities such as the University of Phoenix (http://www.phoenix.edu/) are offering online graduate degrees in educational or instructional technology. Students now have many choices and options in deciding upon a program. Therefore, it is extremely important that the program is publicized in effective and powerful ways.
One way this can be done is through drawing more attention to the website, http://edtech.boisestate.edu, a readily available resource open for business 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Accomplishing this, however, involves many considerations. For instance, the website needs to be easy to navigate, professional, and appealing to the target audience. It should load quickly and provide essential information that can be readily found by the intended users. Also, the site should have a strong presence on the Internet and World Wide Web, optimized for search engine queries. Therefore, this research is intended to evaluate the effectiveness and potential of the EDTECH website through examining search engine criteria, analyzing website log file statistics, gaining insights from online student surveys, and critiquing websites from competing programs. The research will conclude with suggestions on ways to improve the publicity of the website and program.