Category: Higher Ed

It’s no secret that metrics and analytics are crucial to determine and measure the success of a site or web application. However, many organizations often track metrics that reveal little about their target objective—and higher education is no exception to the plague of inefficient UX metric tracking. In this blog, I want to explore the why and how behind effective user metrics in higher education.

Why You Should Measure Higher Ed Pages

First, the why. Essentially all universities want to know everything they can about prospective and current students in order to deliver an experience that aligns with university culture and values. This in mind, universities operate much like businesses by competing for customers (in this case, students). Tracking the right metrics to measure these users’ experiences and acting on those findings can aid any business (including universities) in engaging their ideal audience.

So what are the right metrics? Among the different aspects of student interactions that universities and colleges would like to measure, one of the most important is the effectiveness of the institute’s site. This brings up a two-part question: What is the goal of this site, and how do we know when the site achieves this goal by reaching desired effectiveness levels?

One of the main purposes of a university site is to provide information to prospective students (about institutional culture, values, campus life, etc.) and make sure that information is actually being viewed and processed by the target audience. Measure these factors, and you’ll know in detail how effective the website is.

There are a number of metrics (as part of a greater measurement strategy) that can reveal details of how effective the website is at providing information to prospective students. The first step needed before deciding on specific metrics is identifying what information these students want/need. This is usually identified through discovery research and stakeholder interviews. Assuming these needs have already been identified, the next step is to create content that meets the students’ informational needs and then test how well this content works.

How to Measure Effectiveness of Higher Ed Pages

Now for the how: Testing and measuring your content. What we truly want to measure is if the students are reaching these content pages on the website and if those pages are efficiently delivering that information (content quality). In this case, no single metric will answer both. The first part (Are students reaching the page?) can be answered by tracking page views. The second part can be trickier since there are multiple metrics that can indicate efficiency but can also suggest contradictory conclusions.

One of these metrics can be the exit rate of a page. A page’s exit rate tracks the percentage of visitors that ended their session on that page. In this particular case, a high exit rate can indicate both efficiency and inefficiency. We can assume one of two things about a user who exited a page: they either found what they were looking for and then left the site, or they couldn’t find what they were looking for and left the site. Quite the paradox.

Because it’s hard to know which of these two assumptions actually caused the exit, we can take a better guess by looking at secondary metrics. One of these can be time on page. If there is a predictable average time on a page, we can assume that content was easily digestible. For example, if we predict that a piece of content takes about two minutes to consume, we expect that the average time on page will be around two minutes.

However this does not account for users who may have walked away from their computer while the page was open, racking up time and skewing the average. Depending on the platform you are using for metrics, you may be able to remove outliers and not have them influence your average time on page. Although averages can be robust and not heavily influenced by outliers, their robustness is dependent on the size of population (number of pageviews in this case, as an increase in population size will lead to an increase in robustness). Be wary of low visitor numbers coupled with an unexpected average.

By combining these two metrics, you can get a better picture of what’s going on in a user’s mind. Too much time spent on the page before exiting (“too much” will dependent on the length and depth of the content) can indicate your content is complex and difficult to understand. If this is the case, it would make sense to review your content and determine if it should be simplified or broken up into multiple pages. Too little time spent on the page can indicate a user did not end up at the content they were looking for and left the site. If this is the case, you might have a bigger problem as this can indicate a navigational issue that would not be as easy to fix as editing content.

Measure Online Applications in Higher Ed

Another objective that universities should track (if they don’t already) is anything to do with online applications. This is broad, so let’s zero-in on the more important ones. For higher ed institutions, applications are a direct path to tuition revenue and as such, this path (navigation) should be optimized to convert as many users as possible.

To begin assessing the performance of an application’s online presence, start by looking at conversion rates. This will be the percentage of users that fill out the application out of the total that opened it (filled out/total opens). An unexpectedly low conversion rate can reflect poor application design. It is important to track how users are reaching your application as it can provide opportunities for path optimization. For example, if your application only lives on your homepage but you find a significant number of users travel back to the homepage from a campus culture page to find the application, it will make sense to include a link to your application on that campus page.

Another metric to track when looking at your application efficiency is click-through rate. This will let you know the percentage of users that clicked to the application from pages that contain the option. This will give you an understanding of which pages are more suitable to house the application.

Measurement for Illumination, Not Support

“He uses statistics as a drunken man uses lamp-posts… for support rather than illumination.”

–Andrew Lang, Scottish poet

Digital measurement of student engagement can shed light on all kinds of opportunities to improve higher ed sites and web applications. However, any recommendations of change to a website (or another digital asset owned by a university) should not be solely based on metrics. Numbers will only give you one side of the equation (no pun intended) and the other side is more subjective understanding which requires an element of expertise in the industries and understanding of higher ed users.

So as you apply an appropriate measurement strategy, always keep your university’s business objectives in mind. It is also important to cross-reference metrics whenever possible to avoid relying too heavily on one figure. Ultimately, you want to rely on digital measurement to inform your site strategy, then verify your new ideas through testing rather than rushing a big change.

To read firsthand how to combine UX research and content strategy best practices for a higher ed client, take a look at our case study for Campbell University.

Here you are. You’ve worked through every step. Established funds? Check. Gathered a team of dedicated superstars? Double check. Written your overarching goals? Mic drop. You’ve packed your metaphorical bags like a pro. Now, you’re eager for an excellent digital product at the end of this journey. Vital to your cause will be your ability to stay focused on the user experience (UX).

Ah, yes. You know what the future holds before you reach your end goal. Complicated strategy sessions will be plentiful. And mind numbing conversations about data feeds will be impossible to avoid. But, these less than glamorous tasks are important. Your user focus will make or break your efforts. Every decision you make should aim to better the experience for your users. Especially in the field of Higher Education. By prioritizing your users’ needs and experience, you will know your project is worth every drop of sweat you put into it.

I love user-centric projects in Higher Education. I hope that I can inspire you to stay excited about your project from start to finish. Think of this as a homemade meal you have before heading out on the long road trip that is your project.

Get Excited about Higher Education UX!

At Atlantic BT, we often start our Higher Education projects by evaluating everything. We look into the scope of research, content, design, governance, and marketing efforts. And we love it! Deep research is the best entry point for setting up a solid user centered process. Here are some of the very best reasons for you to share our excitement about your project.

Higher Education Has Dynamic Users

If you have been working in the Higher Education community for a year or more, you are going to have a solid foundation of user understanding. So, congratulations! You are your own subject matter expert. You probably also know you are working for a HIGHLY diverse set of users.

Students, faculty, and administration staff have unique motivations and objectives.  In addition, technology norms are being redefined as quickly as digital progress itself. In any other space, this would be a daunting array of humans to try and understand. The education sector is unique in that it’s a highly studied topic with a litany of resources to glean insights from. When I want to better understand digital learning trends, I pop over to an open sourced journal, like informingscience.org, and do some light background reading.

[pull_quote]As a researcher, it’s interesting to have such a broad range of users to consider, including students (both current and prospective), parents, faculty, staff, alumni, and community.[/pull_quote]Randy Earl, Senior Business Strategist & Research Manager, Atlantic BT
Lesson: Make learning about your users a regular practice. Start your user research with some informative reading on your target audiences. Check out some user research studies from the education sector, as well. I’ll kick you off with a great article from the famed Nielsen Norman Group on research design principles: University Websites: Top 10 Design Guidelines.

Higher Education Has Meaningful Outcomes

The prospect of changing someone’s life when you’re building a cat toy eCommerce website? Not high. The prospect of changing someone’s life when you are helping them decide on their future college, submit assignments, or present research? Pretty good! When it comes to long term outcomes, few UX projects have the same impact as those in the educational sector. In Higher Education projects, it’s a good bet that any new design or technology we implement will make a big difference, impacting the lives of thousands of students and faculty in their education and research.

This makes every UX decision even more meaningful. When we develop a school or college website, we are empowering current and potential students to make the best decisions regarding their academic future.

[pull_quote]The cause of Higher Education is close to my heart, so I’m always excited to help college and universities adapt to their nuanced and rapidly changing needs.[/pull_quote]Gordon Chadwick, Information Architect, Atlantic BT
Lesson: Build strong, motivational objectives for your project. Being specific about the greater good your project offers will help steer conversations away from low-priority rabbit holes. When setting up success metrics, don’t get trapped focusing on standard conversion statistics. Seek to validate the project mission at every turn.

Higher Education Gathers Many Voices into One Solution

Let’s be honest—Higher Education projects can be complicated, especially if you are redesigning your web presence as a whole. We often work with stakeholders across departments who each have unique perspectives and needs. We understand that listening to every voice and working to balance concerns involves not only strategy but emotional labor. Forming a consensus can be a huge problem. That’s why it’s a great place to put the bulk of your planning and energy. In fact, this challenge can be a primary driver to your project’s success.  

When our team took on the redesign of Campbell University’s website, there were 10 academic divisions (including a brand new engineering school) that needed to be brought under one domain. Each division had unique needs for what their portion of the website needed to convey, as well as their own ideas of how to convey it. By incorporating stakeholder feedback into the early planning stage, we were able to create a singular online presence with a consistent focus on content and quality.

[pull_quote]Higher Education projects so often involve the process of unifying experiences across many associated agencies. The result is simplified interactions that encompass the learning institution’s brand.[/pull_quote]Corey Brinkmann, Creative Director, Atlantic BT
Lesson: In addition to their beliefs and opinions, collaborators have rich insights that might save the project from heading in the wrong direction. Digital projects are interdisciplinary ventures by nature. Ensure that insights are gleaned from a variety of experts before you get started.

Higher Education Staff Have a Lot of Passion

When it comes to Higher Education professionals, we often find their passion for the user experience matches ours. We have never been turned down for assistance in obtaining relevant data, recruiting for testing, or making time for design brainstorming sessions. Those who work in Higher Education are clearly dedicated to engaging with their academic community and are always eager to utilize the resources at hand. They strive for excellence in everything they work on, including their projects with us. This inspires us to rise to a high bar of expectation.

[pull_quote]One of the best things about our Higher Education clients is they love to learn about their users. When we present our finding from analytics, surveys, or reviewing social media trends, our higher ed partners waste no time digging into our analysis and applying it to their work.[/pull_quote]Ernesto Frausto, Data and Content Strategist, Atlantic BT
Lesson: Keep your fire stoked as you work toward your goals. Enthusiasm and integrity will not only keep you on the right track, it will diffuse throughout your larger team. Positive outlooks are contagious.

Let’s Hit the Open Road!

The success of your higher education project will rely on how well you define your objectives, understand your users, and execute your solutions. Perform user research, stay focused on your end goals, and gain consensus early. This will help you travel smoothly from project kick-off to product launch.

Above all, stay excited! You are doing amazing and important work. If you’d like more inspiration, please learn more about our passion about Higher Education!