A new CES Web site lends students a hand in preparing for college.
The Church Educational System (CES) has launched a new Web site designed to help prospective college students understand learning options at BYU, BYU–Hawaii, BYU–Idaho, LDS Business College, and the institutes of religion. The site, BeSmart.com, offers admission applications, preparation advice, informational meeting schedules, educational facts, and information about schools operated by the Church of Jesus Christ.
BeSmart.com has three purposes: to encourage the youth of the Church to gain additional education after high school, to publicize educational options available within the Church, and to obtain contact information from the youth so they can receive information they want from different schools.
According to Stephen L. Whyte, ’97, assistant director of BYU School Relations, the site took its inspiration from the “Be Smart” segment of Church President Gordon B. Hinckley’s address about six Bs. “Be smart. The Lord wants you to educate your minds and hands, whatever your chosen field,” President Hinckley told youth in a November 2000 fireside. He emphasized that an investment in education will yield dividends. “There can be no doubt, none whatever, that education pays. Do not short-circuit your lives. If you do so, you will pay for it over and over and over again.”
The Web site is an outgrowth of the ldsces.edu site and contains much more information than the former site. The site uses a honeycomb visual structure with links to guide the user to information.
Students, parents, Church leaders, and others will find valuable information on the site. For example, if a student wants to know how to prepare for college, he or she can click on the preparation cell of the honeycomb. Those interested in knowing the national average for the ACT and SAT, typical salaries by degrees, and other statistics can select the education facts option.
