{"id":3129,"date":"2012-11-04T09:20:54","date_gmt":"2012-11-04T16:20:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/?p=3129"},"modified":"2012-11-04T09:20:54","modified_gmt":"2012-11-04T16:20:54","slug":"university-calendar-important-dates-how-to-do-it-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/minkhollow.ca\/beckerblog\/2012\/11\/04\/university-calendar-important-dates-how-to-do-it-right\/","title":{"rendered":"University Calendar Important Dates – How to do it Right"},"content":{"rendered":"Approximate Reading Time: <\/span> < 1<\/span> minute<\/span><\/span>

Why is it that the things that people tend to check more often than anything, including the list of important dates, are so devilishly hard to find on most university websites.<\/p>\n

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University Websites: Things On The Front Page vs. Things People (Actually) Look For, Andy Camper<\/p><\/div>\n

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I mean, REALLY. This is the modern world – how hard is it to add an obvious link somewhere?<\/p>\n

I have lost track of how often I have gone to a university site trying to find the list of important dates and ended up spending 5-15 minutes just clicking around, getting more and more frustrated.<\/p>\n

Next term, I will be associated with 4 (count ’em: FOUR) different universities spread over two provinces and two countries. I need to know when classes start and end, when the holidays, are, etc.<\/p>\n

Only ONE ( MSU <\/a>) has an obvious link to this information on the front page: Academics->Academic Calendar<\/p>\n

One (USask<\/a>) also has a link from the main pages, but it’s called events: Activities-> Events Calendar<\/p>\n

Neither the U of Calgary<\/a> nor Mount Royal University<\/a> make it easy, and even a search results in you having to try several pages before you are likely to stumble on the right one.<\/p>\n

ONE (USask<\/a>) actually gets it right<\/a>. Not only do they give you an honest to god calendar that you can navigate, they ALSO offer you a downloadable iCal file that you can add to your OWN calendar.<\/p>\n

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Now, if only they would let me leave out the schools that don’t relate to me (like dentistry, medicine, vet med, …). Oh well, it’s still a great idea.<\/p>\n