Does this Web site work? Rhodes College (www.rhodes.edu).

Rhodes College--a small, liberal arts college in Memphis, TN--boasts professors ranked sixth in the nation by Prince. ton Review, and graduates with very high acceptance rates to medical, divinity, and law schools. To match its reputation, Rhodes felt its Web site needed an overhaul The aid site offered about 20,000 pages of Web content, which was maintained on more than 30 servers across campus. "The disparate sites did not share a common look and feel, navigation, or administration, and information was difficult for users to find," pointed out Shiloh Barnat, Rhodes' director of online communications. To remedy this, Rhodes chose the CommonSpot Content Server (www.paperthin.com) to better manage the site's expanding content. How does the college's new site stack up? We turned to our Web critique panelists for feedback.

BEST FEATURES

* Chock-full of information. The site contains an enormous amount of information, all of which appears to be up-to-date.

* Consistent design. The site has a unified look. Material five or six pages deep almost always looks identical to pages that are just one dick away.

* Effortless navigation. Visitors have endless options with which to navigate the site. There are several different ways to get from one page to the next.

* Quick access to campus info. Visitors are given immediate access to campus news, local events, performances, and lectures. This demonstrates a bustling campus alive with newsworthy events and exciting activities.

* Easy to read. Fonts are dean and easy to read, and the text resizing buttons at the top right of every page are very helpful.

* Well-organized links. Important links are strategically placed and easily accessed, such as the Apply Now link which leads directly to Rhodes' free online application.

* Smart Quick links. The Quick links feature on the home page saves visitors time by taking them directly to the most popular areas of the site.

* Effective self-promoting. Each page is spotted with tidbits of promotional plugs for the college--from a professor who won a Fulbright scholarship to the college's ranking in Kiplinger's 100 Best Values in Private Colleges.

* Friendly and effective language. The headings are concise, easy to understand and right where you want them.

* Effective bullets. The Rhodes First Glance section provides a terrific bulleted overview of the college so that prospective students can quickly get the facts they need.

* Savvy Admissions. The Find Your Counselor page--which enables visitors to find a Rhodes admission counselor by clicking on their region on a provided map--is a valuable feature and effective way to get the admissions ball rolling.

NEEDS WORK

* Too many links. They may be well organized and effective, but there are just too many links on the home page, making it look cluttered and a bit intimidating.

* Redundant buttons. There are five buttons to access admissions options, two Apply buttons, and three buttons each for academics, service, and research.

* Not enough photos. The site features few visuals of campus, students, and faculty, and the ones that exist are static.

* Show, not tell. The Campus living section boasts that Rhodes is included in the Princeton Review list of "dorm rooms like palaces." But there are no pictures to back this up. Why not use this opportunity to display these palatial-looking dorms?

* Odd Web cam choices. The Web cam tracks the progress of a library construction site. Why? Visitors don't want to see a building in progress--they want to see the impressive result.

* Spruce up Admissions. The Admissions pages lack exciting photos and colorful graphics. The pages employ white backgrounds with black text and an occasional red border--not enough to grab a visitor's interest.

* Re-evaluate priorities. While the College Catalog is a strong suit, when a user clicks on a department, the first item listed is "faculty." This is not of utmost priority to a student. Course offerings should be listed first, then requirements, and then faculty-the reverse of the current order.

* Better location sell. On the Memphis Excursions page, the photos of Memphis are not appealing, particularly the shot of the motel. Use the surrounding community as a tool to lure students.

SUGGESTIONS

* Add life to the site. Include music, additional graphics, and more photos of students interacting with the campus.

* Show off the campus. The Rhodes campus is exceptionally attractive. Why not flaunt the advantage?

* Add color. The gray-and-black link boxes could be spruced up with bolder colors.

* Change Web cam. Instead of ongoing construction site coverage, offer Web site visitors live shots of a completed new building, or students in action on campus.

* Include virtual tour. Most schools now offer this on their site; it's a great way to give students who can't visit the school an opportunity to see it.

* Play up location. Rhodes' location in Memphis should be as a sailing point. The location should be more prominently displayed on the home page and the Memphis Excursions page could include better, eye-catching visuals.

* Clean up home page. Eliminate non-essential links, such as the link to the NAICU Web site. Too many links confuse and distract visitors.

* Watch language. Consider using the word "majors" in the Academics, Service and Research area on the home page. Some students understand the meaning of majors better than academics.

Edward Klein is the parent of a college student.

Sara Lindheim is a senior at Guilderland High School (NY).

Jim McKeever is a college counselor at Antigo High School (WI).

Keith Meore is the principal of Keith Moore Associates (keithmooreassociates.com), a marketing and communications consulting firm specializing in higher education.

Kirk Snedeker is Web manager for University Business and former Webmaster for Southern Connecticut State University.