Learning Support's List: Portal Suggestions

Simple layout and design, this site has a fresh, friendly, welcoming look to it Mission statement summarized in the upper banner, a smiling picture of the DEPT director, and links to news and events(and videos) right there. A excellent general concept, though they seem to be lacking practical resources for students here(I think most resources require going to their campus office in person nowadays)

Flash embedded Video's directed at Mature University students. Video 1 and 2 are not as pertinant to us as they are more relevant to campus life, but video 3 and 4 are excellent for our students.

Simple but effective design that allows for easy navigation, with a lot of options readily available on the screen. Note the banner under the college logo at the top of the page giving quick links to "Future Students" and "Current Students". Search box at top right. Quick Resources at mide-right giving fast access to students needing to access their online courses(they use the Banner portal) as well as the academic calendar and student life.

This is a blog so I wouldn't use this as a university link, but it is a handy primer for seeing what works and doesn't work in terms of a college website design. His interest is specific to music, but a lot of the criticism and praise is applicable to web design in general.

University of Waterloo short easy series of pages on various topics, study skills, cramming, note taking, etc. The format and method for this site is refreshingly blunt and different then most other sites, using a "Try.. Why?" mentality. Allows for the most direct, to-the-point answers for those short on time.