News
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 10, 2008
Contact: Sherry Reichert, 360-704-4308 or sreichert@sbctc.edu;
Chris Reykdal, 360-704-4390 or creykdal@sbctc.edu
CheckOutACollege.com a new way to explore Washington State community and technical colleges
OLYMPIA, Wash. – The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) has launched a new public website, CheckOutACollege.com.
The site’s main goal is to increase participation in higher education by leading prospective students, counselors, parents and employers to individual college Web sites where they can inquire, apply, enroll and get started at one of the 34 community or technical colleges.
“We hope people will find CheckOutACollege.com dynamic, attractive, easy to navigate and enticing to enroll in higher education,” said Charlie Earl, SBCTC executive director.
Key features include:
- Search functions by career cluster, programs, size of college, location
- Information for parents, employers, school and agency counselors
- Career and learning style self-assessments
- Ideas for paying for college and financial aid calculators
- Basic getting started information in seven languages – Spanish, Russian, Vietnamese, Korean, Chinese Traditional, Chinese Modern, Cambodian and Korean
- Animated characters to guide users through the site
“The initial push will be high school juniors and seniors and young adults who don’t have college degrees or certificates,” said Chris Reykdal, director of administrative services. “As the site and content evolve, we look forward to future pushes to other targeted audiences.”
This week, postcards were mailed to more than 170,000 Washington residents, ages 16- to 23-years-old.
Three video episodes will be part of an online campaign. The first video, “The Promotion,” has already been posted on YouTube. Future episodes – “Rightsizing” and “I’m Outta Here” will be launched when ready.
The animated characters and video episodes were developed by abeedle.com, an award-winning company specializing in social and viral marketing for higher education clients.
The site was designed by Woodard and Company of Seattle and the technical foundation was created by Averetek of Bothell.
Reykdal and Suzy Ames, recent director of communications, led the charge to develop the site, beginning in 2007. The SBCTC communications office developed content in conjunction with campus public information officers. The SBCTC information technology department developed databases, enhanced the search functions and will maintain the site.
Washington’s 34 community and technical colleges comprise the state’s largest higher education provider, serving nearly 500,000 students annually in workforce training, transfer preparation to four-year institutions, literacy and continuing education.
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