Could How We Shop Make a Difference In How We Learn?

Rachel Foster
Jul 28, 2017 · 3 min read
Photo by Tim Gouw on Unsplash

Each day we learn more about amazing technological breakthroughs that are making lives a little bit easier. Cars that can drive for us. Artificial Intelligence that can take over menial tasks. Who does not like the “One Click” Shopping? Well besides the bank account, it is awesome.

So the student experience of today should be super easy, streamlined, and allow the students to focus on the most important part, the learning. Yet, many students complain that this is not the case. They explain that:

  • They have multiple systems to use and different usernames and passwords to manage.
  • It takes some time to figure out the “university way’ of doing things like applying, getting their meal plans or registering for a class.
  • They usually figure out that there was a resource that could help them after they were deducted points in the first class.
  • They underestimated the amount of work that would be required and did not plan correctly.

The number one thing that is repeatedly requested by students is a “one stop shop.”

As students wonder why things are so hard, universities also want to address these items. They don’t want their students to struggle with them anymore than the students want to have to deal with it. So why does it still exist among all of these technical breakthroughs?

It is because university systems were not designed for the student experience.

Higher Education Market

So universities have to transform their systems to serve a learner driven economy. Fortunately, user centered economies is not a brand new thing. The consumer product market has revolutionized the shopping experience by leveraging this. And some universities are beginning to transform as well. Through deconstructing what this means, we can spread this change throughout the educational market.

Foundation of Understanding for a Learner Driven Ecosystem

  1. Profiles: Understand who your students are: They choose and succeed at a university for a reason.
  2. Student Journey: Understand where your students are: Their needs change as they change modes from applying to preparing to studying.
  3. Map: Understand what they are doing: The systems that they are using, the people they are working with, and the information that they need impact their experience and their impressions.
  4. Analytics: Understand how well they are doing: The data can tell you if a task is difficult, a resource is not helping, or if a new idea is working well. This allows great ideas to shine and friction points to dissolve.

This is a time of great opportunity. If we choose to take advantage of the tools of today.

If you would like to learn more, contact me, rachel.foster@hasunn.com

Rachel Foster

Written by

Digital Customer Experience Evangelist | Founder & CEO Hasunn, Inc. | Making Technology Work for People is My Passion.

Welcome to a place where words matter. On Medium, smart voices and original ideas take center stage - with no ads in sight. Watch
Follow all the topics you care about, and we’ll deliver the best stories for you to your homepage and inbox. Explore
Get unlimited access to the best stories on Medium — and support writers while you’re at it. Just $5/month. Upgrade