Introduction The Internet has rapidly become one of the most powerful information media of the century, with the number of web sites nearly doubling each year (Hibbard, Dalton & Thyfault, 1998; McCollum, 1997). The tremendous popularity of this information technology is explained by the fact that the Internet is a very effective, yet comparatively inexpensive, communication medium. The Internet enables its users to extend their access to information resources, to broaden their audience of potential customers, to improve both the speed and quality of their communications, and to reduce paperwork and its concomitant human labor costs. In fact, the Internet medium allows virtually any type of information processing to be done on line. Universities and colleges have quickly embraced this new information medium for two reasons. First, the Internet ideally suits a university mission and environment in the sense that universities are primarily information gathering and dispensing institutions. In addition, by bringing into the classroom seemingly unlimited information resources, the Internet significantly enriches the educational process (Mechitov, Peper & Underwood, 1998; Wallace & Brewer, 1996). Secondly, in today's world of shrinking academic budgets and stagnating enrollments, the Internet has become a vital tool for achieving a competitive advantage, allowing institutions to offer new educational programs (including distance learning) and services (such as on-line applications or registration). This explains why the typical university web site, which may have started as a single, simple, text-based document, has evolved to the point that each division, each program, or even each course, must have its own interactive web page (Himowitz, 1996). Another reason for the rapid proliferation and development of university web sites is that academic institutions deal with young, computer literate, and innovative audiences. Students not only actively consume Internet products, but also enthusiastically participate in their development. According to The Chronicle of Higher Education, the majority of university web pages are developed and maintained by students (Young, 1997). Logically, the rapid proliferation of web pages has made it more and more difficult to attract readers to a specific web page. This need to attract readers has stimulated a lot of attention to the comparison and evaluation of web page design. Many professional and popular services evaluate, occasionally or on a regular basis, the advantages and disadvantages of different web sites (Eighmey & McCord, 1998; Metcalfe, 1997; Kapoun, 1998; Sweet, 1997). The objectives of these analyses range from informing users about interesting sites to establishing sets of criteria, standards, and/or recommendations for site development. The focus of most previous analyses has been on large, commercial web sites of the type which are typically developed and maintained by business corporations, especially news and telecommunication companies. Judging from the available literature, almost no attempt has been made to look at academic web sites. Analyses of commercial sites are not particularly useful in understanding the quality issues for academic site because the latter have their own specific purposes and requirements. For example, academic sites have very different objectives than commercial sites, reflecting their dual roles of being public institutions while simultaneously having to act competitively and efficiently. Further, commercial sites are normally intended for an audience of motivated adult consumers who are primarily seeking information in support of purchasing decisions, while a college or university web page targets dynamic, demanding, and imaginative older adolescents and young adults, who are seeking information pertinent to their own educational development and opportunities. Although there are obvious common elements between these two web environments, the differences are so substantial as to create real risks for academic site developers who overlook these differences. …