Carleton College: Private Liberal Arts College

Carleton College: Private Liberal Arts College

Carleton is my undergraduate alma mater.

Intended Audience

These are very clearly spelled out on the home page:

• Prospective students
• Current students
• International students
• Parents
• Alumni
• Faculty and Staff
• Visitors (including the local Northfield, MN community)


Usefulness of Content

I like how prominent the “Quick Links” section is and how it visually parallels the “Resources” section, which is broken down by intended audiences. I’ve been frustrated by some university websites where information is hidden in the sections marked for intended audiences, and you have to imagine which audience might want the information you’re looking for.

The homepage also does a nice job of presenting news and highlighted events taking place on campus – Carleton has very loyal alumni who take an interest in campus events, so having this information prominently displayed may also serve a fundraising interest. These items also show Carleton reaching out to the Northfield community, which was not a significant issue when I attended, so as an alum it’s interesting to see.

The homepage also includes links to various publications, including the alumni magazine Voice and Shout, which, although not identified as such, is a student-run blog, and Planet Carleton, a kind of a metablog that includes blogs affiliated with Carleton or written by Carleton alums.

Consistency of Design

I was surprised by how text-heavy the website as a whole is. This site needs more striking visuals. Carleton has a beautiful campus, but you’d never know it from the homepage. You can click on a “photobook” from the homepage, which brings you small thumbnail images that you can click on to see a larger image. These images are searchable, which is a nice feature, but I’m very surprised that the homepage is as text-heavy as it is, featuring only small thumbnail images. Judging from the calendars we get every year, they must have countless photos that could be used for the homepage that could set a stronger and more appealing visual tone.

Also, the dark blue “site navigation” and directory bar on all the pages is useful, but ugly.

Ease of Navigation

The omnipresent navigation bar makes the site easy to navigate – it tells you exactly where you are and provides access to a site map on every page. I like the prominent Quick Links on the front page.


Overall, the site is easy to navigate and contains well-organized content, but visually it’s disappointing. There’s so much more they could visually to help bring in prospective students and remind alums of the beauty of the campus.