Blog

University Portals for Student 2.0

August 2nd, 2011

Insight Article, UX Design

The Student 2.0 lives and learns as much on the web as anywhere else.  Unfortunately it seems that for many universities and colleges student portals tend to be a lower priority than the donor and prospective student facing external websites. As universities invest time, effort, and dollars into their online presence, student portals should become a high priority. When a student becomes frustrated with the portal – whether because of the inability to access directories, register for classes, check transcripts, or read university news – the result can be a half-hearted user adoption that degrades the value of the interface or even worse, contributes to a negative student life experience.

Student portals offer an exclusive venue for engaging prospective and current students, and crafting those enrolled students into happy and generous alumni. In fact, many universities are now leveraging open portals to attract prospective students by offering a peek into what it’s really like to be a part of their student community.  Exposing facets of a student portal to prospective students can underscore a university’s commitment to a sophisticated and useful online experience. Student portals should function as a valued, go-to resource for students at every stage of their relationship with their university. While all touch points of a university’s digital presence are important, the exceptional universities realize that student portals contribute to the engagement and happiness levels of enrolled students, influence future donations, and can be utilized to attract prospective students.

Characteristics of the Best Student Portals

We’ve found that the best student portals – regardless of college or university size, location, or affiliation – share many of the same characteristics:

• Transition from public-facing website to student portal flawlessly through cohesive visual design
• Centralize key information while highlighting relevant/popular content so that is it easily accessible
• Embrace modernity and web 2.0 through interactive calls to action
• Optimize internal search for findability
• Provide RSS feeds on the most important campus and local news
• Embody the university spirit in captivating language, refreshed content, and consistent branding

Student Portal Insights

We have collaborated with leaders in the education space to envision the next generation student portal. User research plays a critical role in developing a successful student portal that meets the needs of the student 2.0. User research can be obtained through interviews, focus groups, surveys, blogs, search logs, and web trends. Common themes have emerged from our student portal research;

Students, both online and offline, want to:

• Feel like they are part of a larger community where they have access to fellow students, faculty, and support services when they need them
• Matriculate in an environment that supports all learning types: auditory, visual, and kinesthetic
• Personalize their learning environment so they can find content and services localized to them
• Be assured that the time and money spent on an education will have relevance and results in the real world

Parents want to:

• “See” what the online learning experience will be before enrolling
• Have insight into their child’s grades and financial situation during their tenure with the university

Alumni want to:

• Stay connected and leverage university and network resources
• Continue educational pursuits

It is critical to the user adoption and overall success of your student portal to understand the distinct audience segments and their needs. Meeting these varied user needs involves designing and building an integrated online experience that brings multiple functions into a single interface. The most desired user outcomes should be highlighted within the portal; these include access to:

• Coursework and related information in real time, from anywhere
• Current, relevant, and engaging course materials, assignments, and faculty
• Technical, financial, or academic support services 24/7
• Instructors and advisors who understand students’ personal, educational, and professional goals
• A clear map of student progress as they go through their courses and program

While the aforementioned content elements emerged as front runners in our research, oftentimes student portals centralize additional university information. Content and the way in which it is displayed go hand in hand. We recommend that universities keep current and emerging technologies in mind as they architect, design, and build their student portal because it will be displayed in multiple formats, whether that be laptops, tablets, mobile phones, etc.

When formulating a robust and detailed vision for a cutting edge student portal, the ultimate goal is to create an integrated experience that supports the full student to alumni lifecycle. When fully realized, a next generation portal has the ability to differentiate your institution and set a high standard for a superior educational user experience.