UH Community College System wins national marketing award

University of Hawaiʻi
Contact:
Susan A Lee, (808) 956-5852
University of Hawai'i Community Colleges
Posted: Mar 27, 2014

Web design team, Paul Sakamoto (left) and James Doi, honored with national award for college website
Web design team, Paul Sakamoto (left) and James Doi, honored with national award for college website

HONOLULU –The redesigned Website for the University of Hawai'i Community Colleges (UHCC) won the Silver Paragon Award given by the National Council for Marketing and Public Relations (NCMPR) at the national conference in New Orleans on March 21, 2014. There, to accept the award on behalf of UHCC, was Susan Lee, director of marketing and communications.

NCMPR's prestigious Paragon Awards recognize outstanding achievement and excellence in communications exclusively at two-year colleges with winners receiving gold, silver or bronze designations. This year's competition drew more than 1800 entries for 50 Paragon Award categories.

The redesign effort of the UHCC portal website uhcc.hawaii.edu was led by Web Application Developer Manager Paul Sakamoto, who served as lead designer and developer, while IT Specialist/ Web Developer James Doi provided web development support. The marketing and communications unit from the Office of the Vice President for Community Colleges coordinated the overall Web redesign effort with representatives of the UHCC System-wide Marketing and Communications Committee providing Web content, information and design ideas. The UHCC portal website first won national recognition with a Gold Paragon in 2007.

"We are extremely proud of our Web development team and very honored by the award," said John Morton, vice president for community colleges. "The excellent and creative work of the staff helps ensure that students can access the opportunities that community colleges offer."

The overall goal of the new website was to create a dynamic, interactive and responsive design that invites students to explore options and apply to college. There are online tools to search for programs of study, career and salary information, college profiles and much more.  It is also responsive to mobile devices and various platforms currently being used by students. Since 1998, the UHCC marketing team has won six National Paragon Awards for its TV advertising, Web design and government/community relations projects.