BrandWKU is a new initiative in the School of Journalism to encourage students to purchase their own domain name and start building their personal Web platform to distribute content.

BrandWKU was launched in spring of 2009 by requiring Journalism students in special sections of J232 Electronic Technologies in Journalism to obtain their own domain name and Web hosting service. According to Cliff Shaluta, professor of advertising and coordinator of the Ad+PR unit, “we have been looking for the right platform for students to post their work to the Web for some time. Low cost and ease-of-use were always major concerns for us.” Now, a personal domain name and 3 years of hosting can be purchased for much less than a college textbook or about $75.00. New web hosting technology makes creating Websites and posting content to the Web relatively easy today.

BrandWKU serves as an experimental work area for students polish their professional brand for future employers. Ad+PR majors are required to maintain their Website through their time at WKU for various assignments and then present a final online portfolio to their professor as part of their senior capstone course. “The School of Journalism  provides our majors with the skills they need to create professional digital content and BrandWKU provides the platform to publish their work to the Web”, Shaluta concludes.

Learn more about BrandWKU here.

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