The Journey Center
PROJECT FOCUS: PRODUCT DESIGN · RESEARCH
AMERICAN PUBLIC EDUCATION, INC.
/OVERVIEW
My role
Research, UX design, visual design, and design systems.
The team
2 designers, 1 product manager, 10+ engineers.
Timeline
2021-ongoing
Background
The Journey Center is a gated resource portal that allows prospective and current students a cohesive and personalized experience. It provides a choice between self-service or a guided experience. The Journey Center will improve students’ experience with the university as they navigate and complete onboarding requirements. Further, creating a model that better meets students’ needs will help differentiate the APEI brand for superior student-centric experiences.
/PROBLEM
Inconsistent experience leads to lower student enrollment & completion rates.
There is a significant disconnect across the university’s educational Units (EU) to deliver prospective students a unified experience. Our students are constantly bouncing between multiple platforms to manage their daily interactions with the university.
SOLUTION
Creating a synchronized platform for managing the student experience and increasing enrollment satisfaction rate.
/BREAKDOWN OF SOLUTION
Communication
Implement a single point of contact for students from application start to first-course registration.
Consolidate communication to avoid student confusion (e.g., Notification Center).
Proactively address common questions and concerns by assisting students in selecting their next course (e.g., recommended courses based on programs).
Personalization
Provide students a centric experience to explore tools (e.g., transfer credit, financial plan, & degree plan).
Allow students the flexibility to navigate the process on their terms.
Visual progress of students’ journey is crucial to staying motivated.
Education
Familiarize students with online learning and what to expect (e.g., meet our student stories).
How to tutorials ranked as the most valuable activities for student success.
Present actionable resources throughout the journey (e.g., Discover tools.)
/RESEARCH
44% of students are highly dissatisfied and unlikely to sign up for a second course.
1,900 APUS surveyed students to measure user satisfaction.
/KEY OBJECTIVES
Learn why students choose APU/AMU
Understand which user journeys are most important overall satisfaction with APUS
Identify pain points within the priority journeys
Determine “breakpoints” in operational performance where satisfaction drops rapidly
Test preferences for potential solutions for common pain points
/RESEARCH
72% of participants preferred self-service tools during the enrolment process.
A 4-week unmoderated usability study. 10 participants were AMU, 10 APU, and 10 prospective students. The completed tasks were:
/KEY OBJECTIVES
Admission application for AMU/APU
Interaction with staff members
Orientation completion
Account log in
Course registration/payment
/KEY INSIGHTS
The top three pain points in the user journey are taking courses, paying tuition and fees, and registering.
Disjointed communications
Students received conflicting messages instructing them to (e.g., register for courses) before completing enrollment.
Confusing experience
Users were taken to third-party experiences when interacting with a few degree-planning tools.
Too many cooks
64% of Students interacted with at least 8 staff members from the application start to first-course registration.
/ITERATIVE DESIGN APPROACH
/ITERATIVE DESIGN APPROACH CNTS
Ideating solutions.
Based on continuous user testing, prototypes focused on building a user-centric experience that offers:
/KEY IMPROVEMENTS
In-app profile creation
Self-service from enrollment to payment
All degree planning tools under one roof
User-based actionable tools (e.g., tutorials, course recommendations)
Notification center with all user communications
Single point of contact for student support
Continuity across all devices through a scalable design system
Gamification/award strategy to celebrate educational milestones
/SCALABLE DESIGN
Design system.
/PRODUCT SHOTS
Final product.
The Journey Center app is currently in development and is due to launch publicly in December 2022.