September 30, 2020 - New Chico State Homepage Now Live!

To: Campus Community
From: President Gayle Hutchinson

I am pleased to announce the launch of a refreshed Chico State homepage at www.csuchico.edu. The product of nearly a year of planning, analysis, and execution, the homepage and companion top-level pages offer a fresh look and more engaging, user-friendly design to attract prospective students—just in time for the fall 2021 application period opening tomorrow. 

The homepage was last overhauled in 2009. A lot has changed about how people (especially students) use the web in that time—less browsing, more searching; less reading, more photos; fewer desktops, more smartphones. Web Services and University Communications collaborated to bring us into the modern era at a time when sharing Chico State’s story with prospective students has never been more important. This refresh is going to be a critical tool as we tackle significant recruitment and enrollment challenges.

The homepage, which sees 3.5 million visitors each year, truly serves as the “front door” for the University. This refresh will boost our “curb appeal” to increase enrollment by ensuring the information most important to prospective students is easy to find, clearly presented, and inspirational. With other additions to our web presence, such as the Equity, Diversity, and Inclusionsite that launched this week, it is becoming clearer every day who we are and what we value.

I encourage you to explore the new homepage and the top-level pages identified as crucial for engaging prospective students, About, Student Life, Academics, and Cost & Aid. Questions or feedback regarding the site may be directed to ucomm@csuchico.edu.

I am grateful for the dedication and creativity of the project team led by Casey Darr (Web Services), Francie Divine (Web Services), and Kate Post (University Communications). Their months of work and consultation with many groups on campus have steered us to a successful launch with continuous improvements planned.