Spanish Web Portal — Portal en Español

Which university in the United States has the largest Spanish language presence on the Internet? It’s the University of Michigan, with three Web sites and more than 600 pages.

“The Portal en Español [Spanish Web portal] started in 2004 as a modest project in the Midwest—perhaps not a very logical spot for a Spanish language Web site,” said Vivianne Schnitzer, who coordinates much of the content. “The University of Michigan has a very sophisticated communications office and is a leader in diversity,” she noted.

The Spanish Web portal contains rich content about admissions and academics for students and prospects, as well as health information and other university news for students and families. The sites also disseminate press releases, radio feeds with scripts, and podcasts to Spanish language media outlets nationwide and around the world. The content includes research updates from the university. About 25 marketing and communications professionals as well as health writers at the university contribute content. Schnitzer, a journalist by training, translates and shapes the stories for the Latino audience. Some material is recorded into audio feeds for news releases, read by students or faculty, and accompanied by scripts that local radio broadcasters can use to insert their own voiceover narration.

“Our audience is the entire Latino population,” she said. “We want to provide content that is original, not translated three times and distorted, but that comes directly from the source and is accurate.” The institution has a comprehensive media list for Spanish language outlets including everything from tiny local newspapers to big broadcast concerns. The media effort results in many placements with attribution to the university, which gets its name out to Latino readers and listeners. Taken together, the Web and media efforts market the institution to Latino families and students and build a reputation for the university as a primary source for content in Spanish. “When you speak the language of the family or the parents, they feel safe,” she said. “The university doesn’t become this outside, faraway, cold place. But it becomes a place that is similar to home.”

From College Board Publication, “2007 Resources for Increasing Latino Participation and Succes in Higher Education.” Read the complete article [PDF].