It's valuable, it puts things in context. During the past few years, the Internet has evolved from a small academic forum into a wild frontier of new media. Web traffic is up, especially at B-schools, where, according to RelevantKnowledge, an Internet market research firm that measures Web site traffic and demographics, top school sites can generate upwards of 2 million visitors a month. Today, a well-designed site can educate prospective students on the ins and outs of a program, generate an increase in worldwide recognition, and ultimately serve to bump up applications. But the mainstream acceptance of the Internet has forced schools to push the envelope.
Unlimited content is no longer a differentiator among sites.
Now, presentation is key. It's a tricky balancing act, and some schools carry it off better than others. This setup gives a logical progression to the sites and to searches for specific information, but makes it difficult to move around a site without backtracking to the main index. It's a bit clunky, to say the least. While some schools concentrate on their site's structure or style of writing, others rely on more obvious ways to set their home pages apart.