My former classmates and I recently received an email advertising a technology-focused online Masters degree program.

We’re technology graduates, so we know our way around the Internet. What’s bizarre in light of this fact is that the college in question saw fit to compose and send an email composed of a single image.

I wouldn’t be ranting right now if the image rendered crisply in Gmail, if it didn’t look like something mocked up in the early 2000s, or if it spent more than one half of one sentence discussing the benefits to the student, but, well…you know where this is going.

The graphic links to a landing page featuring the same graphical header (this one with even more pixelation) whose URL reveals the online survey software powering the email blast.

By not putting more care and effort into this email, they lost credibility in the minds of those they need to impress most.

I don’t think I’ll be submitting my application.