2006-07 Psi Chi Website Award Winners
The Psi Chi Website Awards annually recognize and award three outstanding Psi Chi chapter websites. As part of the award, Psi Chi is pleased to summarize each chapter's website here. This year's 2005-06 Website Award winners are as follows:
California State University, Fresno
psych.csufresno.edu/psichi/
University of Victoria (BC)
web.uvic.ca/~psichi/
University of Wisconsin-Green Bay
www.uwgb.edu/psychology/psichi/
California State University, Fresno
psych.csufresno.edu/psichi/
The website for the California State University, Fresno Chapter was designed with the main purpose of delivering information about future events planned by officers in a user-friendly and graphically enhanced manner. Another goal of the website is to provide current and potential members with beneficial information, such as graduate psychology programs. The website is primarily for nonofficer members of the chapter.
The website is a collaborative effort as one officer does the editing while other chapter members comment on the site's composition and content. The site has been designed for and tested in multiple web browsers and various resolution settings with the goal of being accessible and standardized on any computer.
The title and navigation bar are the most distinctive features of the website since they are graphically enhanced versions of what many sites overlook. By simply adding hyperlinks to plain text, the website retains a more professional appearance, a sense of permanence, and a more aesthetically-pleasing look.
Another aspect of the site that stands out is the information archive collected over the years. Records of previous chapter officers, meeting minutes, and pictures taken at past events provide the chapter with its history in one or two clicks. Recording its chapter history helps future chapter officers with ideas and planning for future chapter events.
University of Victoria (BC)
web.uvic.ca/~psichi/
The Psi Chi website of the University of Victoria (BC) informs members of upcoming events, job opportunities, and current chapter news. It also promotes the chapter as it provides information on membership.
The aesthetic appeal of the website is evident immediately. A beautiful banner depicting a local harbor captures the essence of living in Victoria, Canada. The home page gives current news and program information to visiting members. Navigation through the site's pages is easy and based on an interactive left-hand menu, which changes color as the mouse runs over each button. Centering the page on the screen adds elegance and simplicity to the design, while allowing for accessibility on a multitude of monitor configurations. The page is also easily found on popular search engines.
While the main page provides students with needed information, additional site pages provide utility and fun for users. Prospective members can learn about Psi Chi and the application process. Current members benefit from information regarding available grants and scholarships, jobs and volunteer postings, as well as helpful links on and off campus. Members can also provide their resume details on a "Students Looking for Work" page, which is visited by interested employers. The site also includes lists and biographies of current board and chapter members, as well as extensive pictures of past events.
University of Wisconin-Green Bay
www.uwgb.edu/psychology/psichi/
The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay Chapter designed its website to enable members to access information at any time and to educate the public about the chapter and the purpose of Psi Chi at large. Several aspects make this site unique and are designed to motivate research, highlight the importance of research, and encourage members to engage in research. As well as having the traditional information found on most chapter websites, this site seeks to further members' research activities by connecting them to research and highlighting members' research with online accessible pages. The site directs members to key resources and ensures they know more about national organizations that foster psychology as a science on its "Advancing Science" page. The site's "Member Research" page allows members to publish their research on the chapter's site and also promotes leadership, initiative, and learning. The posted studies serve as models for junior members. All projects posted on this site were student presentations at state or national conferences. Finally, the "Research Primer" page has a number of key resources to help students get started on research, as well as several resources that relate to research.
The site also features a "This Day in Psychology" link borrowed from the Teaching of Psychology in Secondary Schools (TOPSS) website. Course management software is used to post minutes, complete member surveys, and catalyze member participation and involvement.