Student Alumni Association

Website
http://urisaa.org

Memorandum
Date: March 10th, 2016
To: Lehua Ledbetter
From: Kaylan Burns
Subject: Audit of URIs SAA Website
I chose to audit urisaa.org because I noticed with more and more
people becoming involved in the Student Alumni Association, this
website is their main source of information when it comes to
membership. This site is a resource very important aspect to general
membership and to learning more about how to get involved as a
current student and as a graduated alumnus. I am definitely
considering applying to be a Rambassador and have found that there is
a bounty of useful and up to date information.
This website is said to have been created on WordPress. I found this
extremely impressive considering I have experience using WordPress
before but never seemed to have been able to maintain their
designated audience and present a visually appealing, professional
webpage. The sites main tagline, a statement that presents the main
focus of any given organization, in this case is, Students Helping
Students: Past, Present, Future. This tagline is fitting and makes sense
for the association because with the goal being to link together alumni
and current students.

The main purpose of this site is to educate those who attend or

have attended the University of Rhode Island and show that there is a
strong community for users after graduation. This allows people to
easily access resources that are beneficial in connecting to possible
internship/ job opportunities after graduating because of alumni
connections or even just information on how to get more involved in
events like Homecoming as an actual alumni. There are many different
benefits to being involved in SAA that are all shown here on their
website.

Overview
Web Design Concepts
Inventory: How do these aspects help users?
Internal and External
Communication
Connecting with SAA
Resources

Web Design Concepts

Inventory
URIs Student Alumni Associations website is a visually and
aesthetically appealing site that also directly presents information in a
way that is easy for most users. One of the main features of the site
map that appears in the form of tabs at the top of the page is to
explain the available content of the website and show where each
piece of information could be found. These categories include Home,
Blog, Programs, Rhody the Ram, Membership, Videos. When you
hover your mouse over each of these tabs, options referring to
subtopics within each specific tab. The breadcrumbs are set at the top
of the page normally below the tabs, and they show the user how they
ended up where they are on the site. The additional web design assets
such as the implication of a search bar to help users find what they are
looking for on a more specific level. The home page has an about
section, an achievements section, as well as a section describing
who composes the Student Alumni Association at URI. They clearly
emphasize their audience, those interested in becoming members, and
identify themselves as an open organization consisting of a leadership

team of 65, including 9 executive board members, as well as any

student who is a dues-paying member. On the bottom of the page,
there are other components such as a section with the address and
contact information, another search bar, an upcoming events section
and a live feed of their Twitter.

Internal and external

Communication

Connecting with URIs Student

Alumni Association

It is very, very simple to make contact with current Student Alumni

Association members. There are two search bars at the bottom. This is
the simple way to browse the page in search of ways to contact current
members. This page allows takes into account that accessibility and
ease of navigation is key to maintaining a good site. The implication of
a search bar makes it easy to find the information you are specifically
looking for. On the other hand, there is the basic contact us portion
at the end of the page where email address, mailing address, and
phone number are all listed to contact the Alumni Center on Upper
College Road so that people can express concerns or even just contact
them about getting involved even more.
I found the site to be modernized and continually updated with
their events and their main form of social media, which is obviously
Twitter. By adding their live Twitter feed, it shows that they are very
active both in the URI community and online. This makes it easy to
keep updated overall all in one place rather than constantly checking
their emails or their updated events on the WordPress page. However, I
think it would be beneficial to include more details about when to
expect applications for their positions that are put out in the beginning
of each semester. This makes users feel as though they are welcomed

to join and have a fair shot of applying and interviewing to be a part of

the committee. SAA overall is a very welcoming, organized and
accessible group of people but there is an aspect of secrecy when it
comes to the qualifications of getting involved with the club that may
be beneficial to advertise more on their homepage to avoid people
contacting them with questions.

Available Resources
Urisaa.org provides its users with informative and very
transparent means of connection between those interested in joining,
current members, and alumni themselves. There are resources for
parents of students to get involved by sending their children Midterm
care packages through SAA, the option to reply to posts and check up
on upcoming events supported or held by SAA. The option of adding
yourself to an email list so you can get updates on meetings or how to
apply to be a part of the team is another resource that is very crucial
to the general success of the organizations site. With all of these
resources available, such as pictures of the current organization
members and videos explaining what it is they actually do on campus,
SAA exemplifies their involvement and encourages other students and
alumni to recognize the importance of connecting to others. I do not
think I would change anything about the resources listed because they
are not only very informative, but also allow users who visit to site to
give feedback of their own.

Conclusion

After auditing urisaa.org, I found that I better understand the

overall goals and of the organization both as a future alumnus like I will
become or a current user of the site. I find that the general goals and
information associated with being a member or someone interested in
being a member of Student Alumni Association at the University of
Rhode Island is clearly developed and expressed through this site. This
audit allowed me to recognize the important values associated with
being a part of SAA and without this site, I think it may be difficult for
incoming students to understand the purpose of possible applying to
be a part of the Student Rambassador program or even just a general
member. This site, the ease of navigation, and the accessibility to
information helps fill the separation between multitudes of questions
that may arise when it comes to browsing the site.