The usability of university websites - a study on European University of Lefke

An institution's website is a gateway to its information, products and services. As such, it should be a reflection of the needs of the stakeholders it serves. The usability is an extremely important aspect of individual website to survival in digital environment for each institution. The aim of the study is to evaluate the effects of the information age on universities in the context website and explore the usability of EUL's (European University of Lefke) website in terms of student usage. Website analysis and measurement inventory (WAMMI) questionnaire, composed of 20 questions, is used for the analysis. The questionnaire was applied to 293 students, studying at different faculties of EUL. Non-parametric and regression techniques are used for analysing the data. The results reveal dissatisfaction about EUL's website.

[1]  Thiam Kian Chiew,et al.  Webuse: website usability evaluation tool , 2003 .

[2]  Allan Ellis,et al.  Usability and meeting the needs of educational Web site users , 2006 .

[3]  James R. Lewis,et al.  IBM computer usability satisfaction questionnaires: Psychometric evaluation and instructions for use , 1995, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Interact..

[4]  Tom Stewart,et al.  Usability evaluation , 2009, Behav. Inf. Technol..

[5]  Nicci Columbine Towards elevating the role of corporate communication to improve stakeholder engagement : communication , 2009 .

[6]  Umi Kalsom Yusof,et al.  Balancing between usability and aesthetics of Web design , 2010, 2010 International Symposium on Information Technology.

[7]  David A. Bradbard,et al.  Web accessibility policies at land-grant universities , 2010, Internet High. Educ..

[8]  Semiral Öncü,et al.  Conducting preliminary steps to usability testing: investigating the website of Uludağ University , 2010 .

[9]  Damien Trentesaux,et al.  WISDOM: A website design method based on reusing design and software solutions , 2010, Inf. Softw. Technol..

[10]  Elena Gutiérrez-García,et al.  CORPORATE COMMUNICATION IN CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: WHY SHOULD IT BE MANAGED STRATEGICALLY? THE SPANISH CASE , 2009 .

[11]  Jean Scholtz,et al.  Usability Evaluation , 2001 .

[12]  Seok Kang,et al.  Colleges and universities’ use of the World Wide Web: A public relations tool for the digital age☆ , 2006 .

[13]  Colin Potts,et al.  Design of Everyday Things , 1988 .

[14]  Horst Steinmann,et al.  FOCUS: Corporate Dialogue ‐ a new perspective for Public Relations , 1993 .

[15]  Lada A. Adamic,et al.  Evolutionary Dynamics of the World Wide Web , 1999 .

[16]  Benjamin Keevil,et al.  Measuring the usability index of your Web site , 1998, SIGDOC '98.

[17]  Glenda Morgan,et al.  ECAR Study of Students and Information Technology, 2004: Convenience, Connection, and Control , 2004 .

[18]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Designing Web Usability: The Practice of Simplicity , 1999 .

[19]  Mik Lamming,et al.  Interactive system design , 1995 .

[20]  Jonathan Steele The Media Omnivores: Understanding College-Bound Students and Communicating with Them Effectively , 2002 .

[21]  Brian Shackel,et al.  Usability - Context, framework, definition, design and evaluation , 1991, Interact. Comput..

[22]  Xiang Fang,et al.  An empirical study of web site navigation structures' impacts on web site usability , 2007, Decis. Support Syst..

[23]  Michael J. Muller,et al.  Methods & tools: participatory heuristic evaluation , 1998, INTR.

[24]  Surajit Ghosh Dastidar,et al.  Impact of the Factors Influencing Website Usability on User Satisfaction , 2009 .

[25]  Silvia Mara Abrahão,et al.  Usability evaluation methods for the web: A systematic mapping study , 2011, Inf. Softw. Technol..

[26]  Tom Carey,et al.  Human-computer interaction , 1994 .

[27]  Cathleen Wharton,et al.  Cognitive Walkthroughs: A Method for Theory-Based Evaluation of User Interfaces , 1992, Int. J. Man Mach. Stud..

[28]  Lisa R. Klein Evaluating the Potential of Interactive Media through a New Lens: Search versus Experience Goods , 1998 .

[29]  Srividya Ramasubramanian,et al.  Impact of Internet Images: Impression-Formation Effects of University Web Site Images , 2003 .

[30]  Tugrul U. Daim,et al.  A critical assessment of information technology adoption: technical, organisational and personal perspectives , 2010, Int. J. Bus. Inf. Syst..

[31]  Donna L. Hoffman,et al.  Measuring the Customer Experience in Online Environments: A Structural Modeling Approach , 2000 .

[32]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Usability engineering , 1997, The Computer Science and Engineering Handbook.

[33]  Jakob Nielsen,et al.  Getting usability used , 1995, INTERACT.

[34]  Cathleen Wharton,et al.  Testing a walkthrough methodology for theory-based design of walk-up-and-use interfaces , 1990, CHI '90.

[35]  Raquel Benbunan-Fich,et al.  Using protocol analysis to evaluate the usability of a commercial web site , 2001, Inf. Manag..

[36]  Tugrul U. Daim,et al.  Exploring information technology adoption in the classroom: case of online learning technology , 2011, Int. J. Bus. Inf. Syst..

[37]  Yong-Mi Kim,et al.  Users' perceptions of university library websites: A unifying view , 2011 .

[38]  Panayiotis Zaphiris,et al.  Website Usability and Content Accessibility of the top USA Universities , 2001, WebNet.

[39]  Sangwon Lee,et al.  The effects of usability and web design attributes on user preference for e-commerce web sites , 2010, Comput. Ind..

[40]  Sanat Kaul,et al.  Higher Education in India: Seizing the Opportunity , 2006 .

[41]  Robert A. Sevier Image Is Everything--Strategies for Measuring, Changing, and Maintaining Your Institution's Image. , 1994 .

[42]  José Luis Ortega,et al.  Mapping world-class universities on the web , 2009, Inf. Process. Manag..

[43]  Suleiman H. Mustafa,et al.  Usability of the Academic Websites of Jordan ' s Universities An Evaluation Study , 2008 .

[44]  Cliff McKnight,et al.  World Wide Web usability: introduction to this special issue , 1997, Int. J. Hum. Comput. Stud..

[45]  Kraig Finstad,et al.  The Usability Metric for User Experience , 2010, Interact. Comput..

[46]  Sylvain Sénécal,et al.  Measuring Perceived Website Usability , 2007 .

[47]  J. Burchell,et al.  Stakeholder Dialogue and Organisational Learning: Changing Relationships between Companies and NGOs , 2007 .

[48]  Aytekin Isman,et al.  Usability Level of Distance Education Website (Sakarya University Sample) , 2010 .

[49]  Pei Yan,et al.  The research of Web usability design , 2010, 2010 The 2nd International Conference on Computer and Automation Engineering (ICCAE).

[50]  Lori Boyer,et al.  Internet presence and historically black colleges and universities: Protecting their images on the World Wide Web?☆ , 2008 .

[51]  Joyce Kimberly Ballard,et al.  Web site usability: A case study of student perceptions of educational web sites , 2010 .

[52]  Stephanie Rosenbaum,et al.  Usability studies of WWW sites: heuristic evaluation vs. laboratory testing , 1997, SIGDOC '97.

[53]  Joy Gordon,et al.  University websites and dialogic features for building relationships with potential students , 2009 .

[54]  John Michael Pearson,et al.  Integrating website usability with the electronic commerce acceptance model , 2011, Behav. Inf. Technol..

[55]  Frederick G. Conrad,et al.  A heuristic evaluation of a World Wide Web prototype , 1996, INTR.