Nathaniel Mekuria
March 19, 2023
Professor Weaver
Major Project 3
Summary:
St. Thomas University is a private, Catholic university that was founded in 1885. The university’s website shows different undergraduate and graduate programs across a wide range of disciplines, including business, education, engineering, law, social work, and more (https://www.stthomas.edu/). Overall, the St. Thomas University website appears to be targeting students who are academically motivated and socially engaged. The university offering all these educational programs and also different diversity programs, suggests their intended audience is students who value their education and celebrate diversity. Saying this, their ideal readers would be ones looking for inclusion and education. The university uses the APSTARC strategy of purpose and the Rhetorical strategy of ideal readers to appeal to students.
Analysis:
Although being a catholic university, upon analyzing the St. Thomas University website, it appears that the university is looking to attract a diverse group of students who are academically motivated, socially engaged, and committed to making a positive impact in their communities.
The website prominently features information about the university’s academic programs, including detailed descriptions of each program. The university states its purpose throughout the website, it uses this APSTARC strategy to effectively communicate its goals to its prospective students. The first thing you look at upon entering the website is a huge quote saying, “Higher education with a higher calling” (STU Home). As u scroll down the front page of the website, it shows the different programs it has and how it has been successful in making sure its students end up with a job after their time at St. Thomas. The website also displays pictures of different career fairs they have, their internship listings, and showing their workshops. They try to show their students that they are preparing for their future careers and will gain practical experience. Highlighting their academic programs and showing their previous student’s success, the purpose of all this is to appeal to its intended audience of students who are interested in exploring different academic disciplines and want to learn about the specific courses and use resources available to them.
Another strategy the college seems to be using is a rhetorical strategy of assuming its ideal readers or viewers of the website are looking for an engaging and comfortable campus life. The website features information about the university’s student organizations, athletics, campus events, and other aspects of campus life. The cover page of the website reveals their new basketball and hockey arena called “Lee and Penny Anderson Arena” which took a groundbreaking 75 million dollars to construct. (STU Home). By hovering over to the campus life section of the website, it advertises the 130+ different clubs, traditions, and organizations it has, the university also emphasizes its dining service, which offers “fresh and nitrous food”, their sustainability, transportation which includes a campus shuttle, and how the safety of its students is a top priority (STU Campus life). This strategy appeals to ideal readers who are looking for a vibrant and engaging campus community, and who want to get involved in extracurricular activities outside of the classroom.
The university also wants its ideal readers to know is actively working to promote diversity on campus and that they have specific resources available to make sure it happens. The first page of the website holds a picture of students from different races holding each other and below it features a quote “Our commitment to Diversity and…Inclusion” to show that the hostility of these diverse students is one of their priorities (STU Home). By hovering over to the campus life section, the university assures its readers that they promote diversity by featuring information about the university’s LGBTQIA+ community, mentioning a Multicultural Affairs office, which provides resources and support for students of “diverse backgrounds”, and its diversity and inclusion council (STU Mission). The website also wants students who are interested in athletics, it lists extensive information about the athletic program it offers and the resources it has for its athletes.
Saint Thomas University’s website uses a variety of images of its campus to showcase its beautiful building, facilities, and green scenery. The university inserts pictures of the campus and its buildings, starting from the front cover and way into missions, admissions, and the info center (STU). The pointy roofs and the high-top ceilings give the university a middle-aged, gothic aesthetic. Considering this is home for most students for the next coming years, the physical feel of the campus does matter. The university uses its unique architecture and culture to attract students by creating a positive first impression and feeling excited about attending the university.
St Thomas Campus
Response:
If the university was affordable and was in Georgia, it would be in my top three, from what I can see on the college’s website, it appears to be an excellent institution that values diversity, commits to academic excellence, and creates opportunities for its students. The three values I hold most from the exercise we did in class were: Ambition, ethical behavior, and peace. The university pushes students to aim high and helps them pursue their goals in very many ways. Throughout the website, I noticed that the university highly encourages students to act with ethical behavior. One way the university demonstrates this is through its mission statement, which states that it is committed to “fostering a learning environment that develops students’ intellectual and ethical virtues” (STU Mission). Overall, from my personal research on the university website, Saint Thomas looks like a very well-rounded University. It is well above my standard and does not have anything to push me away from it, besides being out of state and expensive.
Work Cited:
University of St. Thomas – Minnesota, https://www.stthomas.edu/.