Position Paper 3:

Higher Education: University of Oregon 

The University of Oregon is a member of the PAC-12 Conference and was founded in 1876. The campus sits in Eugene, Oregon and runs alongside the Willamette River. The average cost of tuition after financial aid is $16,000 with a 69% graduation rate, and a 78% acceptance rate. The website for the University of Oregon is overall aesthetically pleasing by taking a simple approach with school colors and large videos on the home screen like "The Real-World Research Project" make it very appealing. Once you scroll down from their large eye catching video feed they have links to multiple things happening around campus to drawl attention of future students. For example a recent article was 'Hogs and Hazelnuts' which details a Oregon student's plan to assist local farmers to stop filbert worms from destroying hazelnuts and his solution is pigs! Which I don't know about you but I think learning things like that or knowing a university provides the resources for these type of projects could influence me on making a education decision. 

Underneath the multiple articles describing things on their campus is the awesome little button labeled 'Why UO?' with the catchy slogan "Ready, Set, Duck." This section of their website is actually broken up into smaller sections. The first section is 'Quick UO Facts' which lists their total enrollment which is at 22,760 and then breaks it down further with 19,122 undergraduate students with 3,638 graduate students. Then it breaks down what to expect from their courses, their University offers 1,583 undergraduate courses per semester. Only 140 of those course will have over 100 students with a 16:1 student to teacher ration and the median class size being 20 students. The site then breaks down the geographic origin of the universities student population being made up of 52% Oregon residents, 38% out of state, and 10% international students. Followed by a section made for the UO athletic programs. Like I stated above the university is apart of the PAC-12 conference and offers a multitude of intramural sports for students. The university actually offers more women sports than mens. Women's sports teams on campus include acrobatics & tumbling, basketball, cross country, golf, lacrosse, beach volleyball, soccer, softball, tennis, track & field, and volleyball. For men's teams there is baseball, basketball, cross country, football, golf, tennis, and track & field. Like I mentioned earlier the university offers a large array of intramural sports for students. Now while you may say "well every university offers some intramural sports." but at the University of Oregon theirs are a little different. The UO offers things like alpine skiing, sailing, wushu, and Jiu jitsu are just a few of the 36 intramural sports offered. The other sections include alumni stories, top scholars, student life, and their study abroad programs that are offered in over 80 countries. The University of Oregon's website is definitely a major selling point to incoming college students and provides an in-depth look into the campus with a lots of photos.

As a student athlete who thought about attending the University of Oregon for softball I had to go into depth of their athletic marketing and advertising. The university like most colleges in the United States has a separate website for their athletics and if you thought their regular website was nice wait till you see the UO athletic site. Now with the multitude of athletics teams at the university its no surprise the extensive media they offer through the site. The media tab on the athletic site features things like On-Demand which has a Youtube channel, Pac-12 Networks VOD, and the Pac-12 Now App. They also have radio with the Oregon Sports Network, Live Audio Broadcasts, and TuneIn Radio. All these different ways of accessing the universities sports really increase interest in the school.The athletic program also has an advantage that other colleges don't. The Nike headquarters is located close to campus and they heavily endorse the universities athletic programs. One of the coolest aspects of having Nike support your athletics is the uniforms and gear provided to athletes. The football program has over 28 uniform combinations. Now to you that may not seem like a big deal but having that many uniforms and gear provided is a huge blessing coming from a student athlete perspective. The University on the athletic site has a cool feature where for every sport there is a section where you can click and view all their uniforms and gear. Which is a huge marketing aspect as they also let recruits come in and try on uniforms and pose with family to try to influence athletes to join the program. Overall their sports are a big drawl to their university by competing at a high level in the Pac-12 and their support from Nike.

The University of Oregon does a fantastic job attracting attention in positive way. Whether it be their beautifully put together website and stunning photos of the campus UO knows how to bring their university to the public eye. Not to mention their graduation rates and acceptance rates being high also helps parents in assisting their kids in the decision of higher education. They have so many ways to bring new students in including their 36 intramural sports offered or study abroad opportunities in over 80 different countries! Their social media and photos supporting the athletic program also bring in a multitude of sports. A huge sell I think for the University is their flashy and multitude of athletic gear thanks to their sponsor Nike. Finding new students or athletes to join their University will not be difficult if they continue to grow their programs and positively show off their opportunities.