Website Insight: A Stamats’ Adult Students TALK™ Study Presented by: Becky Morehouse, Senior Vice President for Client Services Stamats
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Website Insight:A Stamats’ Adult Students TALK™ Study
Presented by:
Becky Morehouse, Senior Vice President for Client Services
Stamats
Background/Impetus
Slight departure from Stamats’ traditional annual study
Why?
We know what they are looking for
We know where they’re looking
How can we ensure those two things are matching up?
By finding out how they go about seeking what they need
Enrollment Barriers (Adult StudentsTALK™ 2017)
54%
41%
25%
13%
11%
10%
9%
7%
5%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Cost to attend
Time commitment; juggling family and work balance
Securing aid to help pay for college
Childcare needed to attend classes
Transferring credits from another institution
Academically challenged; feel less prepared, less confident
Transportation challenge to attend classes
Bureaucratic administrative challenges from previouscollege/university prevents my attendance
Technically challenged with computers or other technologies
Total n=784
Information Sources (Adult StudentsTALK™ 2017)
Total n=784
46%30%
23%20%
17%
13%
12%
11%11%
8%
8%
6%
6%
6%
5%
5%
3%
3%
2%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Website of a college or universityGeneral web searches such as Google, etc.
Family/friends Program brochures/publications from the institution
Campus visit/meeting College advisor
Email from a college
Advertising – televisionSocial media platforms (i.e., Facebook, Twitter, etc.)
Current students Rankings publications
Advertising – outdoor, billboards Alumni of a college or universityColleagues/co-workers/mentors
College/career fairs
Career counselor Advertising – over the air radio
Advertising – streaming Internet radio College professor
Total n=784
Selection Criteria (Adult StudentsTALK™ 2017)
What factor is most important to you when choosing a college or university?
16.9%14.2%
8.9%5.6%
5.6%
5.6%
5.1%
4.7%4.6%
4%
3.9%
3.8%
3.5%
3.3%
2.8%
2.5%
2.1%
1.4%
1.3%
0% 5% 10% 15% 20% 25% 30%
Cost to attend
Online learning available
Offers degree I am interested in
Academic reputation of college/university
Amt of financial aid available
Flexibility of class meeting times
Accreditation of the degree program
Location is convenient for me to attend classes in person
Faculty are good teachers/mentors
Specializations or tracks of study offered
Length of program, time needed to complete degree
College ranking
Job placement data of graduates
Ability to transfer in credits
Credit for prior work or life experience
Personal attention from faculty or staff
Internships that provide academic credit
Appearance of classroom/facility
Small student/faculty ratio
Prospective Master orProfessional Degree Seekersn=263
Benefits of Usability Testing
In our ongoing research and web development, we consistently find websites as the key
touchpoints for many prospective students—whether they’re discovering an institution,
researching its programs, or enrolling for the upcoming semester.
Usability testing enables you to:
Assess your website’s page performance
Understand how users find content and explore your website
Understand why users make certain decisions (continue in a
different path, abandon a page, or request information)
Promote successful pages as part of your marketing campaign
Remediate problem pages and critical areas
Usability Testing
What is Usability Testing?
Usability is the extent to which a user can meet his or her goals
Usability testing is the process of observing people using a website to determine not just what they’re
having problems with, but why
Aims to recreate an actual real-life experience in a controlled environment (not focus groups)
Performed by all industries
Participant Profile
Prospective Adult Graduate Student
Age range: 31 – 64
Average age: 42.08
Total participants: 25
Bachelor’s degree: 17
Graduate degree: 8
Participants were recruited
throughout the country and tested
online in March, 2018
Selected Institutions
Goals
We tested the most common information adult undergraduate and graduate students seek:
general program information, program length, tuition cost, and course delivery methods. We
structured those needs into goals and tasks related to the website experience:
1. Navigation: Find the program detail page
2. Ease of task completion: Identify the length of the program
3. Comprehension: Identify the cost of attendance
4. Intuitiveness: Determine the course delivery methods
Method
Each institution was tested on those four goals
Not every institution offered all the programs tested
Five participants were assigned for each institution as prospective graduate students
Participants were provided with six to eight minutes to finish each task
The search bar was not allowed as an option to complete the task
Participants narrated their thought process
FINDINGS
Liberty University
The main and online web pages have a
different feel and navigation
Design can be confusing (if it is not global);
online page duals as a landing page, which can
confuse some visitors
The architecture and program tools require
many clicks before the visitor reaches the
program detail page
Visitors can’t simply browse or explore
different programs
Liberty University
Participants are uncertain whether they completed the tasks fully
Participants liked the alternative methods of communication, receiving information, and taking courses
Participants found inconsistent tuition cost on the financial aid page, the price calculator, and the website’s general information
0% 20% 40% 60%
Confident
Somewhat
Confident
Not Confident
Confidence in Completing Task
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50%
Incomplete
Partial Complete
Complete
Completion Level
Most participants struggled with the tuition cost because of the convoluted price
structure
Participants had difficulties finding the time required to earn an MBA–most felt a range
estimate would suffice
Frustration came from having to do the calculations themselves
No one found the Cost Calculator
The calculator requires personal information before it can compute the cost
Liberty University
FINDINGS
The website is focused around the programs
offerings and classroom experience
Some participants recognized SNHU for its
online programs
Participants felt the program information
was well designed
The primary navigation is clear and intuitive
SNHU
SNHU
The SNHU online programs website has the highest usability score
All participants completed the tasks
All participants rated themselves as “confident”
The “Find Your Program” tool was extensively used both on the home page and
interior pages
Most participants appreciated the amount of relevant information
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Incomplete
Partial Complete
Complete
Completion Level
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Confident
Somewhat Confident
Not Confident
Confidence in Completing Task
SNHU
Most felt the content was very clear and
well structured
Participants experienced slight difficulties
finding the program length
Participants had difficulty estimating the
total cost with the chart table broken
down by course credit hour cost
FINDINGS
Penn State World Campus
The website has a minimalist design with a
focus around their program finder tool
Participants looked for tools to calculate
tuition, program length, credits hours, and
course requirements
Participants for World Campus took the
most time to complete the tasks
Participants were more thorough when
evaluating the programs
“Obviously it is 48 [credit] hours to
complete…but the actual time to
complete would be helpful [to
know.]
-TarGents
Penn State World Campus
High task completion aligns with participants’ confidence levels, which shows the website
structure is good but content could be more streamlined
Participants found inconsistent tuition cost on the financial aid page, the price calculator, and
the website’s general information
Participants are uncertain on how to translate credit hours into length of time (weeks, months,
or years)
0% 20% 40% 60%
Confident
Somewhat
Confident
Not Confident
Confidence in Completing Task
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Incomplete
Partial Complete
Complete
Completion Level
Many participants appreciated the
information on how the online classroom
experience integrates with the university
The program filter tool is convenient and
helpful
Participants were not discouraged with
the page length
The notion of having key content “above
the fold” only applies to poor layouts;
visitors will scroll with good layout designs
“It would be nice if it could say if you take “"X” number courses per semester it
would take roughly “X” amount of time if everything went right.”
- ThisPoorGuy
Penn State World Campus
Penn State World Campus
Navigation The program finder tool was seldom used when placed on the right as drop-down boxes.
Participants often relied on the menu or the visual navigation to explore the programs.
Nomenclature Sometimes the program follows the institutional name and organization, which aren’t always
intuitive to participants.
FINDINGS
University of Phoenix
All participants are aware of the University
of Phoenix
Most participants assume the programs will
be delivered online
All participants completed the tasks within
the same amount of time
Consistent architecture with specific pathways
The website’s art direction is coordinated
across all media (TV, online videos, online
ads)
Very cost-focused
University of Phoenix
The disconnect between task completion and the participant’s confidence level shows a
false sense of completion; based on the usability testing, this website should be restructured
for proper conversions or provide clearer content
Participants had difficulty converting/translating course credits into total program length
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60%
Incomplete
Partial Complete
Complete
Completion Level
0% 20% 40% 60% 80%
Confident
Somewhat
Confident
Not Confident
Confidence in Completing Task
University of Phoenix
Some participants also had trouble with
the academic structure or jargon Expected the “Cybersecurity” program to
appear earlier in the program list (alphabetical order), instead of falling under the “Information Services” category
“Master’s” = “Graduate degree”?
Participants had great difficulty converting credit hours into time, and estimating the length of the program (weeks, months, or years)
FINDINGS
Western Governors University
The website’s look and feel is
centered on the quality of
education received, WGU’s
reputation, and value messaging
All participants completed the tasks,
even though there was a significant
different in completion times
The architecture is intuitive and the
content is clear Multiple pathways to the master’s
program listing page
Western Governors University
All participants successfully completed the tasks
Participants commented on how easy it is to use the website and were pleased by the
interface
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Incomplete
Partial Complete
Complete
Completion Level
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
Confident
Somewhat Confident
Not Confident
Confidence in Completing Task
GENERAL OBSERVATIONSUsing Qualitative Data to Optimize Your Website
General Observations
Task completion typically aligns with the participant’s confidence level
University of Phoenix is the only outlier—the design and interface give participants a false sense of completion and a new content strategy would help
Liberty University should improve their information architecture, user interface, and content
Penn State should optimize their user interface design
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Liberty
University
SNHU PS World
Campus
University
of Phoenix
WGU
Task Completion
Complete Partial Complete Incomplete
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
Liberty
University
SNHU PS World
Campus
University
of Phoenix
WGU
Confidence Level
Confident Somewhat Confident Not Confident
General Observations
Age was not a significant factor
on task completion
Web applications can have a
profound affect on the user’s
experience (i.e. ,“Find Your
Program”), but they need strong
integration with the design and
editorial content, otherwise it’s
missed
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1950 1955 1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990T
ime o
n T
ask (
seco
nds)
Birth Year
Prospective Graduate
KEY TAKEAWAYSHow can you design a better website?
Takeaways – Design & Functionality
Create consistent experiences across your website
Coordinate your marketing efforts for a consistent look and feel across all media
Most visitors are hesitant to share personal information early in their
exploratory phase
Strategically place call to action buttons, web applications, and forms
Create tools your visitors will find useful and place them on the same page
Takeaways – Architecture
Multiple paths to a destination are good. However, too many unrelated entry/exit
pathways can overwhelm visitors.
Ensure your information architecture is aligned with your content strategy
A good architecture allows you to measure and optimize key points of your
conversion funnel
The idea that a page has “too much information” or has content that disappears
“below the fold” is largely a myth in the digital space
These issues stem from an improper information architecture, user interface design, or both
Have sections or content that your visitors seek
Takeaways – Editorial Content
Avoid higher education jargon (or provide quick explanations of said jargon)
Be clear on who your target audience is and have a focused message
Be clear with your total tuition cost and provide an average range of time for the
program completion
Many participants were frustrated converting credit hours into actual time (weeks, months,
years)
Don’t clump key content with other content
Use different headers or design styles to segment information for scanability
Provide relevant content in adjacent locations
Takeaways – Editorial Content
Final Thoughts – Critical Touchpoints
Home page (particularly primary navigation)
Search tool
Program listing page
Program detail page (length of program, course delivery methods, cost, application deadlines)
Financial aid (find tuition cost)
Admissions (how to apply, tuition cost, deadlines)
And all impact an institution’s brand.
Thank You!
Presented by:
Becky Morehouse, Stamats Communications
Senior Vice President for Client Services
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