Every week, I read almost a thousand news items from the websites of universities and research institutions in Romania to compile Romanian Science Digest, so I know how hard it is sometimes to find the information you're looking for. Now, there's also a top 10 of the most Internet-friendly universities, by the report https://universitati-digitale.ro/I want to tell you about it, but let's also ask ourselves together: do universities have a duty to communicate well?
Study of digital presence
The Digital Universities study, conducted by Dorin Spoaller, a university lecturer at Babeș-Bolyai University, systematically analyzes all 87 accredited universities in the country, evaluating not only their websites on several aspects: from search engine optimization to social media presence. The results are divided into three categories, like a traffic light: green for good performance, yellow for mediocrity, red for disaster.
Top universities as a digital presence
- West University of Timișoara (State)
- "1 December 1918" University of Alba Iulia (State)
- Partium Christian University of Oradea (Private)
- "Danubius" University of Galați (Private)
- University of Bucharest (State)
- Sapientia University of Cluj-Napoca (Private)
- University of Petroșani (State)
- "Transylvania" University of Brașov (State)
- "Lucian Blaga" University of Sibiu (State)
- Maritime University of Constanta (State)
Universities at the bottom of the ranking:
80. "Henri Coanda" Air Force Academy Brașov (State)
81. "Spiru Haret" University of Bucharest (Private)
82. European University "Drăgan" from Lugoj (Private)
83. "Romanian-German" University of Sibiu (Private)
84. "Mihail Kogălniceanu" University of Iași (Private)***
What was analyzed:
- Responsive site (i.e. if it looks good regardless of screen size)
- News section
- Updated design
- Website menu
- International version
- Contact details
- Search engine
- Social media
- Disability accessibility
- Visible admission
- Cookie banner
The best performing universities are not the best communicators
There are a few notable absences from the top 10. First, here's what it looks like latest metaranking of universities in Romania, a compilation of various international hierarchies,
1. "Babeș-Bolyai" University of Cluj-Napoca
2. University of Bucharest
3. UNST Polytechnic University of Bucharest
4. "Carol Davila" University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Bucharest
5. "Transylvania" University of Brașov
6. "Iuliu Hațieganu" University of Medicine and Pharmacy in Cluj-Napoca
7. Al. I. Cuza University of Iași
8. West University of Timisoara
9. Bucharest Academy of Economic Studies
10. Technical University of Cluj-Napoca
From the top 10 digital, only 3 universities are present in Metaranking: University of Bucharest (5th place digital, 2nd place Metaranking), Transilvania University of Brașov (8th place digital, 5th place Metaranking) and West University of Timișoara (1st place digital, 8th place Metaranking).
From here I came to a fundamental question: if a university is very good at what it does, education and research, why does it matter whether it has a good website or not? Why should marketing matter or, as I often hear in academia said with disdain, who sells their wares better on the stall? But I think these questions have the wrong lens.
Communication means attitude towards the public
This data reflects something deeper than technical problems with a website. It reflects an attitude. When a university has a non-functional website, or a design from 2005, or outdated content, or information so obscured that you have to click 10-12 times before you find something, then we are not talking about a lack of resources. We are talking about a lack of respect for the public that finances it. Remember, most universities are public and receive money both from the budget and from students who pay for their studies.
If you are skeptical when reading this, think of another public institution funded by our money. A city hall. Or ANAF. We have no claims from their websites? We want the information to be transparent, easy to find, so that we don't click endlessly, so that we don't find news from 2023.
So do universities. When they produce knowledge – whether it's a new vaccine or a linguistic theory – that knowledge belongs to all of us. We have the right to understand it, to access it, to use it.
To answer my own question: yes, I believe that universities have a duty to communicate well, and that means even more than having a good digital presence. It also means making themselves understood about the value and impact they produce in research, because the public deserves that.
I write about how to better promote science and research in my newsletter Science and Communication. You can subscribe here.
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