Frequently Asked Questions About URL Change to www.bellevuecollege.edu

The following are some answers to common questions about the college's decision to change the official web address to www.bellevuecollege.edu from www.bcc.ctc.edu.

Why are we changing?

Many reasons:

• www.bellevuecollege.edu is more user-friendly, intuitive and memorable for people trying to find our website.

• It will optimize our presence on search engines such as Google by having the words Bellevue and college included in the URL.

• It will help us in the competitive market for enrollment.

• Since we are now offering four-year degrees, it more accurately conveys BCC’s place in the higher-education world.

• The “ctc” part of the old URL, in particular, has long been a confusing part of our web address.

When are we changing?

• During winter quarter 2007.

Will the old web address still work?

• Yes, it will automatically send them to www.bellevuecollege.edu and we plan to keep it available that way for several years.

I am the website manager for my division or program. Do I have to do anything to prepare for this transition?

• No, but once we switch to the new URL, you can start changing all the references pointing to the old website URL from your website. Any questions you have about updating your sites can be directed to the Web Services staff.

What will be the new URL of my department or program website?

• Most existing BCC sites will simply need to change the first part of the URL (www.bcc.ctc.edu) and replace it with the new name (www.bellevuecollege.edu) address. The rest of your existing URL will remain the same. For example, the Arts & Humanities division site now uses the URL www.bcc.ctc.edu/artshum/. After the URL change goes into effect, they’ll want to advertise their site URL as: www.bellevuecollege.edu/artshum/.

• Some BCC website addresses that do not currently begin with www.bcc.ctc.edu/ will be moved to the new URL gradually. If this applies to a site you manage, Information Resources should have already contacted you. You will want to continue advertising your existing URL using the bcc.ctc.edu format until someone in IR contacts you to schedule a time to move your site over to the new URL.

Haven’t I already seen www.bellevuecollege.edu being used by BCC?

• Yes, we’ve used it on some of our advertising and marketing materials for more than a year. If somebody typed it in, they were sent to www.bcc.ctc.edu. Our web-hit measurements through our web analysis software showed that it was effective.

Aren’t we obligated to keep the “ctc” part of the address since we are part of the Community & Technical Colleges system?

• No.

Is the website itself going to change?

The BCC website constantly evolves and improves, but a URL change doesn’t require changes to the look, feel or navigation structure of the website.

What is the cost?

• There is no significant cost for equipment or software or anything like that. Of course, there is some cost in staff time but much of that has been spread over the past year as we’ve prepared for the change.

As college employees, do we need to change our business cards or brochures or other materials?

• We want to emphasize www.bellevuecollege.edu, so materials that can be updated now should be. But since both URLs will work, you don’t need to order new business cards or other materials right away.

Do I have to change anything on my computer at work?

• No.

I have the BCC home page set as my browser home setting – do I have to do anything special?

• No, at least not right away. Ideally any bookmarks or shortcuts you have established using the previous URL should eventually be updated to the new address. You can do this when it’s convenient for you.

I am a faculty member with links to the website in my online syllabus or worksheets. Do I need to change anything?

• No. Those links will still be OK. Just change them when you update your pages.

Are we also going to change our e-mail addresses to get rid of the “ctc”?

• No, not now. This project is just about the website address. A lot of people on campus have urged changing the e-mail addresses, but the e-mail system is different from the website, so any changes will be a different project.

Why did we pick www.bellevuecollege.edu instead of something like www.bcc.edu?

• Some of the other obvious choices for BCC were already taken when we acquired this one a few years ago. For example, www.bcc.edu belongs to Burlington County College in New Jersey and www.bellevue.edu is the address for Bellevue University in Nebraska. So www.bellevuecollege.edu was a good option for us.

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