User talk:UMBC Web Team

University of Maryland Baltimore County

It's bad form to come in and hype your own school. -Howardjp 18:07, 24 Mar 2005 (UTC)

This was an existing page that was out of date--we did not create it. We only found out it existed a few weeks ago, and the information was a few years old. The folks at Answers.com suggested we make updates, and we think it's important that prospective students have the latest information. We'll try to be low on "hype" and just provide the facts. I see you have worked on a number of university sites, so if you have any suggestions on how best to include information let us know!UMBC Web Team

I just did a lot of stuff on the USM pages. I did leave in the factual changes such as student count, but those things which read like an undergraduate brochure, I chucked. For instance:

Located a few miles south of Baltimore, UMBC is 15 minutes from downtown Baltimore and 45 minutes from Washington, D.C. The Baltimore-Washington area is known for its music, sports, museums, restaurants and historical traditions. Favorite student meeting places include Fells Point, the Inner Harbor, Oriole Park at Camden Yards, M&T Bank Stadium, Patapsco State Park, Annapolis and Georgetown.

While all certainly true, it reads like an advertisement. Just be a bit more gentle is all I am saying. Now, if there is a great reason to tie UMBC to M&T, such as UMBC engineering graduates/students worked on designing the automatic french-fryer, that would be a great reference. However, saying your close to it, when it's a five minute (or 45 minute in traffic) drive on 95, that holds little value. Things you should add: list of notable alumni and faculty. Any interesting and different programs (such as the scholars programs) should be added or the info fleshed out. That said, this is just my own arbirtrary standards.

-Howardjp 16:58, 25 Mar 2005 (UTC)

Thanks for your comments. Very helpful. UMBC Web Team