It was 6:54 on a typical Monday evening. I had plans to meet my friend in the Bison for dinner. “Hold on; give me two minutes. I just need to send out a quick e-mail,” I texted her before I left my dorm room. Wait, where is B-Mail?
Think back to the number of times you were late to a meeting or class this week trying to navigate Bucknell’s new website. If you are anything like me, you are probably overwhelmed by all of the recent changes. Don’t fret; Her Campus Bucknell is here to help!
First Things First – Why The Website was Redesigned
According to Roberta Diehl, who led the website redesign project, the new website is actually supposed to make our lives easier. The purpose of the redesign was to create a site more responsive to the Bucknell community’s needs. The previous website was launched five years ago, before smartphones and tablets existed in our lives in the way they do today. As a result, the content on the old site was not designed to be responsive (or even displayed) on mobile devices.
Moreover, the University was looking for a way to stand out to prospective students on the Web. While “bold and forward-thinking,” the design is “rooted in tradition” to reflect the true Bucknell experience to prospective students and their families. The previous template became over-saturated, which made it difficult for prospective students to learn about Bucknell. The new design “showcases the beautiful physical campus” and “tells the story of what you can accomplish and learn at Bucknell.”
How To Find the Bucknell Basics
Welcome Home:
Nothing new here – simply type www.bucknell.edu into your Web browser.
When You Need to Send an E-mail, Check MyBucknell, Moodle, or the IN Network:
To check your e-mail, select “I’m a current Bucknell student” on the “Start Exploring” drop down menu.
When You Need to Know What is Happening in the Student Activity World:
If you scroll down on the “I’m a current Bucknell student” page, you can find a calendar focused on student activities created by the CAP Center.
When You Need to Declare a Major or Figure Out What Classes to Register for:
If you scroll down a little more on the “I’m a current Bucknell student” page, you will find links to the Career Development Center, the Library, and research opportunities. You can also find information on courses, transcripts, and final exams. If you are interested in learning more about athletics, Greek life, or student organizations, you can find that here too.
When You Need to Find Research for a Paper:
Speaking of the Library, the dedicated team of librarians in L&IT, made our lives as students even easier. If you click on “Library” under “Research, Academic, & Career Opportunities,” you can easily conduct research by subject, request an interlibrary loan, and access the Bucknell Digital Commons. A major upgrade, you can now do all of this without ever logging on to myBucknell.
If you scroll further down on the Library page, you can find Library news about new programs, technologies, and projects on campus. The page additionally highlights the Library’s Social Media presence and provides entertaining Library Fast Facts.
When You Need to Find Information about Housing:
If you return to the “I’m a current Bucknell student,” page and scroll past the section on class registration, you will find information on “Housing, Dining & Transportation,” “Billing & Financial Aid,” and “Health and Safety.” Learn about affinity housing, substance-free housing, residential colleges, and the differences between living in a Gateway versus a Mod or Vedder double.
In the same section of the website, you can learn about financial aid, make a B-Bill payment, or read about Bucknell’s safety policies.
When You Need to Find An Office’s Contact Information:
On the bottom of any page, click “Contact Us.” You will find a directory of every major office on campus with important phone numbers and e-mail addresses.
When You Need to Look Up the Time of Zumba:
Similarly to how you can find out the number of the Switchboard on the “Contact Us” page, click “Calendars” on the bottom of any page on the University site. Here, you will find news stories about upcoming events. If you click, “See the full calendar of events,” you will be redirected to the University calendar featured on myBucknell.
…And When You Just Don’t Know Where to Look:
Remember, Bucknell’s new website was designed for someone who knows very little about Bucknell. That’s great news for you, collegiettes! If you are not sure about where to find an old webpage, simply select “The Everything Directory” on the top of any page on the site. Here, you can search for a department, office, service, or center by browsing alphabetically-sorted pages.
And if you are still lost, there is a great search feature where you can enter a keyword describing what you are looking for.
What You Really Need to Know As a Bucknell Student
Before you freak out because you cannot find your syllabus on Moodle or check the daily menu on MyBucknell, understand that the website is exploratory in nature. New features, such as the quick search, “The Everything Directory,” the “Start Exploring,” and the “Places I’ve Been” pages will save you hours of time when you are unsure about where to find what you are looking for.
So collegiettes, embrace the inevitable; Bucknell’s new website is here to stay. To familiarize yourself with all of the recent changes, spend some free time exploring the website. You might learn a new fun fact about the place we have come to call home. And, the next time you find yourself waiting on a friend trying to locate his or her B-Mail account, refer them to Her Campus’ how-to guide.