Your class website may be the first place classmates engage with your community. Class Programs in Alumni Affairs provides a free website through iModules for class leadership to utilize. All classes have a URL created in the same format, with ‘XX’ being the last two digits of the class year:
classofXX.alumni.cornell.edu
Classes are able to host their own websites on different platforms, and have classmates redirected there from the above URL.
While your class website may not be the primary tool for connecting with alumni, it’s important to keep your online presence active and current.
What to include – the basics
Who we are
It is important for your class to know who is representing them. List your current class officers and council members, and their roles. Depending on your level of comfort, you can list contact information for the president, all officers, a general class email address, or just your class staff contact. The important takeaway is that anyone visiting your site has someone they can get in touch with for more information.
If your class officer roster changes in between Reunion years, be sure to add, remove, or change information as needed.
Where to find us
Classes’ social media pages are often the tool used to connect, communicate, and share information in real-time. Be sure to point people to your social media page(s) and make it easy for them to connect!
iModules has two built-in sections for class-specific social media.
The top of the page includes Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and email icons that can be linked to your class-specific social media pages (see icons below).
There are also embedded social media feeds at the bottom of the page. The default social media feeds are to the Cornell Alumni Association’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts; however, these can be modified to your class-specific social media. Please note that private groups cannot be embedded, so if your class uses private groups be sure to link to those somewhere on the homepage.
Stay relevant
Imagine a classmate visiting your class website to learn more about how to get involved, only to find a Reunion registration link from 3 years ago! Links to event registrations or Reunion information, while helpful, quickly become outdated and need to be removed or refreshed often. It’s better to have a basic website with current information, than a more intricate site that’s outdated.
Your social media page may be a better place to advertise events, and your website simply points people to where they can join that conversation or get up-to-date information.
Important links
There are basic links to share on your class website that support your class and its goals. They include:
- Pay class dues
- Make a gift
- Contribute to Cornell designated class funds – class-specific links found here
- Update your alumni directory listing
- Submit class notes
- Cornell Association of Class Officers (CACO) website
- The name and email address of your class staff contact
Additional links that you may want to include can be found on the Helpful Links page.
Going above and beyond
You have the basics on your landing page, so what can you do to elevate your site?
The iModules website template automatically includes two tabs: About and Community. These can be edited or removed based on your preference.
Additional tabs can be added to your website, which segment out categories of information for a better browsing experience. The more tabs you add, the more maintenance your site will need, so make sure that your class website doesn’t become overloaded with information that’s difficult to keep current.
Examples of additional tabs to include are:
- Class photos
- Class history or archive
- Reunion information
- Classmate profiles
- In memoriam
- Blog or newsletter entries
- Class scholarship information
Web accessibility
When using social media, be sure to follow the guidance provided by the social media platforms in relation to web accessibility.
Alt-Text – alternative text; meant to describe an image as it relates to the content of a document or webpage. It is read aloud to users by screen reader software.
Captions – designed for viewers who cannot hear the audio in a video.
- Alt-text: https://help.twitter.com/en/using-twitter/picture-descriptions
- Captions: https://media.twitter.com/en/articles/blogs/2019/subtitles-now-available-in-ios-and-android
- Alt-text: https://www.facebook.com/help/214124458607871
- Captions: https://www.facebook.com/help/261764017354370
- Alt-text: https://help.instagram.com/503708446705527
- Captions: Auto captions can be added this way: https://www.bustle.com/life/how-to-use-instagram-captions-videos-stories-reels.
- If you want to do the captions yourself, you’ll need to use an app on your phone to add them to the video before uploading it to Instagram.
Examples of class websites:
Class of 1955 – classof55.alumni.cornell.edu
Class of 1979 – classof79.alumni.cornell.edu
Class of 1982 – classof82.alumni.cornell.edu
Class of 1985 – classof85.alumni.cornell.edu
Class of 2001 – classof01.alumni.cornell.edu
Class of 2012 – classof12.alumni.cornell.edu
Class of 2014 – classof14.alumni.cornell.edu