Infographic
Reimagine the Student Experience:
6 "What Ifs" to Inspire Innovation
Use this infographic to reimagine what a modern student experience could look like at your school and explore action steps you can take to make new experiences a reality.
Click on the orange arrows to learn more.
6 hallmarks of a modern student experience
What if every incoming student knew you understood them as an individual with unique interests and goals?
Personalized onboarding means user-friendly and digital-first processes that minimize the burden of admin tasks and refocus student attention on the educational experience.
How to get there:
Optimize data collection: Automate collection of personal information and preferences from incoming students
Prioritize knowledge management: Implement content, website, and outreach tagging to help match your offerings with student interests
What if your students could complete administrative tasks quickly and easily—from anywhere?
Frictionless administration means user-friendly and digital-first processes that minimize the burden of admin tasks and refocus student attention on the educational experience.
How to get there:
Map current experiences: Thoroughly examine each process from start to finish from a student’s perspective to understand key friction points
Redesign, then digitize: Using your experience mapping, design the ideal experience and then digitize it to avoid creating digital versions of existing roadblocks
What if all your students felt welcome and connected from the moment they enrolled?
Accessible campus community means digitally facilitated interactions to help students find their place on campus through student clubs, athletic teams, peer mentorships, and more.
How to get there:
Integrate activity data: Create data infrastructure for success staff to access reliable data on student’s extracurricular activities
Personalize opportunities: Tailoring communications and options conveys that your institution cares about a student’s success and unique experience
What if your students could access the right learning experiences at the right time to accomplish their goals—throughout their careers?
Flexible academic pathways means teaching, learning, and assessment with flexibility, including hybrid modalities, manageable transfer pathways, and appropriate credentials.
How to get there:
First, understand student needs: Determine what student segments you serve, what aspects of the current learning experience are a challenge for your current students, and what other student segments you could serve if you structured the learning experience in new ways
Then design pathways: Based on desired student outcomes, determine the most relevant skills and qualifications (which may include a degree) and design pathways with different levels of engagement to suit
What if your students felt empowered to bring their whole selves to school?
Holistic wellbeing support means staff, resources, and services that attend to students’ personal needs across mental, physical, and financial wellbeing.
How to get there:
Align leaders on holistic wellbeing and its implications for success: Start a conversation to establish key terms and definitions, combat outdated stereotypes, and understand the impact of mental, physical, and financial health issues on both students and institutional priorities
Streamline access to support: Centralize information on existing campus-wide supports to help students understand the range of options available to manage their concerns
What if your graduates could find engaging work, and were equipped to easily navigate a dynamic job market?
Proactive career preparation means tailored experiences to support career exploration, skill development, and preparation for success in the workplace post-completion.
How to get there:
Intervene early and often across the student lifecycle: Create a phased action plan or curriculum that spans four years, and distribute it in the first year
Build mechanisms to nudge students: Prompt students to complete specific action steps, like taking a career path exploration quiz or drafting a resume
Imperatives for any student experience work
As you work to modernize the student experience, don’t lose sight of these three imperatives:
Center equity and promote anti-racism
To better serve current students—and the more racially diverse classes of coming years—you must identify equity gaps on campus and develop a plan to close them.
Resource to explore:
7 Hallmarks of an Anti-Racist Education Institution
Embrace ongoing digital transformation
Done right, digital transformation helps you build a tech ecosystem that evolves with your priorities. Focus on student needs to avoid adopting tech for tech’s sake.
Resource to explore:
Sustaining Student-Centric Innovation: A Roadmap for the Digital Transformation Ahead
Foster cross-campus collaboration
Operational silos pose a huge risk to your mission, slowing down decisions and stifling innovation. Break down your silos to limit the friction of misalignment.
Resource to explore:
Five Threats of Silos for the University Executive Team
Ready to craft a new student experience?
Download our whitepaper to explore the six hallmarks of a modern student experience and learn how you can bring it to life, including examples from innovative colleges and universities.
