2007-08 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 2007-08 Website Award winners are as follows:
California State University, Fullerton
http://psych.fullerton.edu/psichi/
Central Michigan University
http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/psichi/about.html
DePaul University (IL)
(original site no longer online)
California State University, Fullerton
http://psych.fullerton.edu/psichi/
The California State University, Fullerton, Psi Chi chapter developed their website to keep the students current on upcoming events and announcements and to continue giving students quick access to information pertinent to their success at CSUF and in the field of psychology. The website encourages visitors to take control of their educational experience by being involved in their campus activities and psychology field.
The website shows pride in the university: dressed in blue and orange with a picture of the beautiful Orange County campus on top. The layout is simple to navigate and the content is thorough. Not only can members find the chapter’s events for the school year (community services, workshops, networking opportunities and other organization’s events that may be helpful or interesting), but they can also read about the importance of research and find summer programs. Links are provided to encourage application for scholarships ad grants. The picture page acts as a scrapbook of Psi Chi chapter events, which members love seeing. Prospective members can also download applications from our website. The members can count on always finding something new as the site is updated every week.
Central Michigan University
http://www.chsbs.cmich.edu/psichi/about.html
The Central Michigan Psi Chi website was created so that current and prospective members can stay up to date on events taking place within the chapter. The website also serves as a place that Psychology students can visit to obtain information about volunteer and research opportunities. Our chapter hopes to convey that we are an organization that is readily available for students to gain information about the field of Psychology and the volunteer and research opportunities that are available to them through the chapter of Psi Chi.
The site stands out from others for many reasons. The layout of the website is easy to use because all of the information is separated into different tabs that make it user friendly. There are tabs set up that contain information about Psi Chi, contact information of eboard members, short biographies of each eboard member, lists of current and past members, membership requirements, a calendar and meeting minutes can all be found at the top of the website. There are also links for information on the MPA conference, pictures of members, research interests of Central Michigan faculty and volunteer opportunities around Mt. Pleasant.
The Psi Chi chapter wanted to create a site that enables both members and non-members to gain information on the field of Psychology and opportunities that are available to them through both the Central Michigan chapter of Psi Chi and also Central Michigan University. The website also serves as a resource for other areas relating to the field of Psychology.
DePaul University (IL)
(original site no longer online)
The DePaul chapter of Psi Chi created their website in order to provide a location to access Psi Chi information for DePaul students. Another goal was to encourage student involvement research and community service. Through the website, the chapter conveys to current and future members that participating in research activities and involvement in community service are beneficial for academic advancement, and valuable for the development of ethical, socially engaged, life-long learners.
The website designers paid careful attention to details while creating an aesthetically appealing, user-friendly, web resource center. The banner consists of images known to all DePaul undergraduate psychology students to create a sense of belonging: an image of downtown Chicago, an aerial view of the DePaul campus, and a vintage photograph of DePaul’s psychology building. The homepage hosts important news, with links that quickly take the viewer to a range of relevant and valuable information. In addition to Psi Chi-related information, the website also offers graduate school information and tips, opportunities for summer research grants and related fields, and conference information. The website also utilizes professional tools, such as Google calendar for our schedule of events, in order to provide an easy, user-friendly way for the members to stay connected.
The website is designed to enhance the psychology undergraduate student’s experience by creating an easily accessible resource center. The website encourages all students to join research teams, volunteer at local organizations, apply for grants, and learn about graduate school options—all of which lead to advancements in the science of psychology.