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CNMs Student Portal

Assessing the My CNM Portal

Presented by:
Jacob Wagner-Gonzalez

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Abstract
In todays rapidly developing digital world people rely increasingly on web access
to reach their goals. Online resources account for a majority of all information access
nationwide. Meaning, in order for an organization to truly remain competitive, they
must provide the best possible web presence available. Website design based around
accessibility is crucial to effectively reaching your audience, allowing you to convey
information both concisely and thoroughly. As the largest community college in New
Mexico, CNM (Central New Mexico Community College) provides educational services
to thousands throughout the state. Although, as the years have progressed the college
has made only minor changes to their My CNM portal. As the rest of CNMs website has
advanced, my.cnm.edu has yet to adapt to new standards of accessibility. I believe by
employing new web design strategies CNM could effectively improve their online
experience, growing their already widely diverse student body. In this report, I will
discuss in detail various best practices and leading web design strategies available to
CNM for application to the My CNM portal.

Table of Contents
Introduction & Methodology -

3, 4

Results -

4,6

Discussion & Final Recommendation -

6,8

Works Cited -

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Introduction
Accessible, as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary, is capable of being
reached...being within reach...easy to communicate or deal with (Merriam-Webster).
Therefore, accessibility means the ability to access or use. In regards to material
designed to be perused by the public, accessibility can be said to refer to the ease with
which information, or resources, are available. The more accessible a source of
information or services is, the more people will be able to access it. This is turn leads to
a wider consumer base, and in the case of businesses, higher profits. For this report, I
will be focusing specifically on website accessibility.
There are several factors to consider when addressing website accessibility
including the following: readability, creative draw, and organization. Readability refers
to the ease with which a user can access a page and glean information they deem
pertinent. The creative draw of a site is the sites ability to attract, draw in, and keep the
attention of prospective users. Organization refers to the design of the site and all its
subcategories, as well as the layout of text and picture resources.
I feel CNMs my.cnm.edu web page could use work regarding readability, creative
design, and organization. Further on, I will discuss varying techniques crucial to
maintaining an attractive, user friendly website. I will also detail how I went about
acquiring this information. Upon completing this report, CNM community college
should be able to properly apply the above-mentioned topics and use them to update
their online presence. (CNM)

Methodology
To understand, evaluate, and apply new techniques an individual, or group, must
first research all available information on the subject. In regards to prescribing updates
and changes to CNMs website, my.cnm.edu, I tasked myself with gathering a variety of
secondary sources. These sources included general knowledge sites such as MerriamWebsters online dictionary and a variety of web articles.
Step 1.
I set out to accomplish was gather a list of online resources regarding modern
web design. After searching through available sites, I was able to single out the
following: Smashing Magazines article on 10 principles of effective web design
(Friedman), From Up Norths 25 examples of Trendy and Modern Web Design
(Nelson), and HubSpot.coms the 8 Elements of Modern Web Design (Vocell). These
articles provided accurate, detailed information regarding modern web design as well as
examples therein.
Step 2.

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I did a search for examples of highly acclaimed university websites. I was

specifically looking for techniques used by these universities in creating accessible
websites. Two articles caught my attention, one being the webby awards list of 2016
award winners for best web design (The Webby Awards) and the other being an article
by hubspot.com titled, 14 of the best college websites (Kolowich). The former, presents
examples of best web design principles in action, but did not go into detail as to why
these university sites received awards. The latter, on the other hand, presents the list of
top university sites along with a brief analysis explaining successful aspects of each site.
Step 3.
I researched methods and standards regarding web design for disabled
individuals. The primary resource pool for information regarding website accessibility
was webaim.org. Web Aim specializes in teaching proper web design and accrediting
organizations regarding web design for the disabled. Despite finding information
regarding web access for the disabled, I found it lacked pertinence to subject at hand.
My.cnm.edu does not have any noticeable problems regarding this form of accessibility.
With all my research gathered I proceeded to analyze the data, cross reference
each site with the information I had regarding My CNM, and come to a logical result.

Results
I used two articles regarding modern web design to aid my research into
accessibility. The first is a piece by Jeffrey Vocell for blog.hubspot.com and is titled The
8 Elements of Modern Web Design (And Web Design Trends to Watch). These 8
principles are divided up as follows: Typography, Hero Images, Videos, Semi-Flat
Design, Menu Design, Large Product Images, Card Design, Short Product or Feature
Videos. The following are principles I feel most directly apply to university web design:
(Vocell)
1.

Hero Images (Vocell)

a. Vocell discusses the use of large, vivid imagery to both draw the user in
and provide additional information about your site. Using images as a
center point can alleviate congestion caused by extraneous text as well as
catch the users attention. (Vocell)

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(Haque)
2. Videos
a. Videos can be used as an alternative form of information. Vocells article
discusses using videos on the homepage to quickly provide users with a
sites story as well as draw the user in. Vocell mentions how video is not
only more eye catching, but also presents information significantly faster
than written word. (Vocell)
3. Typography
a. The type of text format an organization uses throughout its website
directly impacts usability. Vocell argues, When creating your company's
brand, your choice in typography can indicate subtle hints about who you
are (Vocell) and gives the example of the New York Times use of
typography to lead users through their website. Typography can indicate
the headings, subsections, and other aspects of a websites text-based
information.
4. Semi-Flat Design (Vocell)
a. Simply put, flat design is any element that does not include or give the
perception of three dimensions, such as shadows (Vocell). This allows
websites to be more technologically friendly, meaning a website can easily
be accessed by a wide variety of web browsers, mobile devices, and
computers of varying capabilities. It also means the site is easier on the
eyes, requiring less effort to take in information. Semi-Flat Design also
leads to simpler site layouts and is a major factor in readability. (Vocell)
5. Menu Design
a. Vocell advocates for a website menu design referred to as hamburger
menus. Hamburger menus are compact, minimalistic drop down menus,
usually located at the top of the page, which provide quick and easy access
to subpages or categories. These menus cut down on website crowding,
improving the websites readability. (Vocell)

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(Kolowich)
6. Card Design
a. Card design is method of site organization focused on small, simple
cards which include a picture and relevant description and link to subpages of the website. (Vocell)
The second online article I accessed was written by Vitaly Friedman for Smashing
Magazine titled, 10 Principles of Effective Web Design (Friedman). This article focuses
primarily on the psychology of web design and the idea that the key to creating a great
website is understand(ing) how users interact with websites, how they think and what
are the basic patterns of users behavior (Friedman). Friedmans article can be summed
into the following ideas:
1. Website design should be user-centric. This means all design choices should be
based around how the user will react to your site. (Friedman)
2. People tend to follow the following basic idiosyncrasies:
a. Users dont read, they scan (Friedman). Users of a website dont read
through all the information provided. Instead, they will scan the page for
information important to them and therefore, we as web designers should
make commonly accessed information stand out on a page. (Friedman)
b. Users will continue to access a site if its content is high quality and
credible, despite mediocre web design. (Friedman)
c. Websites that follow common web designs, or in other words stick to the
basics will get more views. conventions are very useful as they reduce the
learning curve, the need to figure out how things work (Friedman). The
less active thinking your audience needs to do to use your site, the easier it
is to use. (Friedman)
3. Lastly, clutter is the enemy. Friedman mentions its really hard to overestimate
the importance of white space (Friedman). The less information (to a point)
provided on the screen, the faster your audience is going to be able to scan
through and access information they need. (Friedman)

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These principles can be seen in practice by the university websites discussed in

Lindsey Kolowichs article, 14 of the Best College Websites (and Why Theyre So
Awesome) (Kolowich). This article, written for blog.hubspot.com, has compiled a list of
some of the most accessible, well designed, websites of major universities throughout
the world. Each of these websites has excelled in at least one of the afore mentioned
principles. For instance, the designers behind The University of Notre Dames website
remarked, We wanted to make the navigation as intuitive and simple as possible
(Kolowich), a topic explicitly discussed in Vitaly Friedmans article on web design.
(Friedman)

Discussion
Each of the articles discussed above have provided key points regarding website
design. When used together, this information can provide a staging point from which to
address numerous rhetorical situations. The My CNM website suffers from a lack of
readability and clutter. All information therein is shoved into 7 highly generalized subpages filled with bland, small, text boxes. Throughout the site there are little to no
images to catch the readers attention and most specific information takes far too much
time to locate. In addition to these problems, the website is not mobile friendly,
something that is most definitely a necessity in todays smart phone-centric world. I feel
these problems can be resolved in one of two ways. Either CNM can redesign the current
website or build a new site from scratch. Both of these options must implement an
upgrade to allow for ease of access on a mobile device.

My.cnm.edu

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Option 1
The current my CNM site has a few things going for it supporting a simple
redesign. Firstly, my.cnm.edu already has a fairly decent organizational style. The site is
split into multiple, easy to read sub sections and uses a card system to further organize
topics within those sections. As it stands, each page contains an overwhelming amount
of information in a small, basic font and no images. This could be improved upon by
increasing the general font size, changing the typeset to one possessed of a little more
creativity, and further separating out the provided information. This last subject
involves, using hamburger menus to remove clutter on the menu line, create more subpages containing fewer topics, and allow for more empty space. With more space, the
web designers could add images to spice up the page, providing much needed creative
draw and in process provide more information for users.
Option 2
The other option would be to develop and design an entirely new website. This
new website would continue to use the card system in place but would implement
images on these cards combined with short descriptions of the content therein. The site
would also provide additional sub-pages with more explicit titles. The sub-pages could
then be accessed by a discrete hamburger menu, leading the user to the specific
information they require. I would also support adding an interactive current events
menu to the main page. This menu would take the form of a scrolling image updated to
reflect ongoing, or upcoming, events occurring on campus as links to find out more
information.

Final Recommendation
In conclusion, I feel there is only one true solution to the problem presented by
CNMs my.cnm.edu website. In order to stay competitive in todays rapidly evolving
digital landscape, CNM should develop and implement a brand new my.cnm.edu portal
for their students. A website that takes advantage of all the knowledge available and
provides an efficient, user friendly website for their students. The fact is the current
website is too outdated and has too many glaring problems, such as lack of usability via
a mobile device, to be updated. If CNM follows in the footsteps of their sister university,
UNM, which until recently possessed a similarly outdated student portal, they will be
well on the way to online success.

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Works Cited
Elucian. my.cnm.edu. unk unk 2014. Website. 25 November 2016.
Friedman, Vitaly. Smashing Magazine. 31 January 2008. Article. 25 November 2016.
Kolowich, Lindsay. blog.hubspot.com. 22 July 2016. Article. 25 November 2016.
Merriam-Webster. merriam-webster.com. unk unk unk. website. 25 November 2016.
Vocell, Jeffrey. hubspot.com. 8 October 2015. article. 25 November 2016.