By Ashlyn Scearce ~ Staff Editor and Writer
Snapshot of the new Lynchburg.edu homepage.
On February 11, 2025, the University of Lynchburg made drastic changes to its website, updating it so students could access information more efficiently and make it more pleasant for viewers.
Heather Bradley, Associate Vice President for Marketing and Communications, clarified the university’s decision to revamp the website.
“The idea of updating the website actually began before I even stepped into my role in September 2023. It was something the Undergraduate Retention Task Force had identified as a key area for improvement. They saw a need for a more user-friendly and effective online presence”, Bradley said.
The site’s changes were implemented to reflect the welcoming environment of the university and the city of Lynchburg.
Prior to the website changes, the university also changed the Solutions Center, HornetCare, and the Center for Career and Engagement Opportunities to better serve its students with the help they need.
Student success statistics on the new Lynchburg.edu homepage.
The website now features the University Experience and Student Success page, which provides students with easy access to on-campus resources such as Outdoor Recreation, the Health Center, Spiritual Life, and LGBTQIA+ Campus Resources.
The university’s Marketing and Communications (MarCom) team felt the old website was too dull compared to the websites that other institutions currently offer to their students..
“The MarCom team kept hearing that the old site just didn’t feel very lively or engaging,” said Bradley. “It felt a little text-heavy. And we wanted to change that. We wanted to create a website that would get prospective students excited the moment they landed on it, and make it easy for everyone to find what they needed quickly,”
One of the most significant adjustments that students had last year was MyHive. Prior to the site going live, students had to navigate multiple websites to make payments and schedule classes, among others. MyHive now allows students to access all the necessary information in one site.
“I like the updated platform,” said Cynthia Dien ‘25, who also expressed concern about some site pages that were not working. “I think it’s hard to navigate the new website sometimes if links are not working.”
The new website allows students to access any information they need through “hub pages,” allowing them to find everything related in a specific place. Also, adding “quick links” has created a cleaner layout, rather than the extensive links on the previous website.
“These updates and more are all designed to make the website more beautiful, efficient, and user-friendly, providing everyone with an overall more enjoyable experience,” Bradley said.
However, some professors have expressed slight concerns about the ability to navigate the updated site. Dr. John Angelis, Assistant Professor of Operations Management, believes that the new website still has some kinks to work out.
“It’s a little less detailed,” Angelis said. “My one site complaint is that I really want to make sure people looking for business can find it as soon as possible.”
While the site’s transformation has improved the user experience, Bradley believes that the university still has the potential to make more changes and asks for student feedback to help with these improvements.
“We see the site as a living, evolving resource. While we did have a group of students test-drive the site and give feedback before the launch, we’d still love to hear how you all think we can make the site even better,” Bradley said.
To see the upgraded site, visit University of Lynchburg
