This deck outlines our process for building Student Journey Maps. This presentation was delivered at the #PSEWEB Conference in Montreal, in July 2015.

1. Student Journey Maps
JP Rains VP Strategy at Soshal
@jp_rains

2. @jp_rainsJP Rains
VP, Strategy at Soshal
#PSEWEB Board Chair
Former head of digital at
Laurentian University

3. @jp_rainsStudent Journey Mapping
• What is Student Journey Mapping?
• How can you implement this process
on campus?
• How can you use this to improve your efforts?

4. What is a Student
Journey Map?

5. @jp_rainsStudent Journey Mapping
The student journey is arguably one of the most
complex user mapping exercises, as it involves a
significant number of stakeholders, concurrent
processes, and spans over many years.

6. A map that tells the story of a
student’s journey through the
student life cycle (or a phase of it).

7. What is a Student
Journey Map?

8. @jp_rainsElements of the Student Journey Map
Personas (Ex: prospective students, alumni etc)
1. Goal(s)
2. Activities
3. Emotions
4. Barriers
5. Insights

9. @jp_rainsWhat is a Persona?
• Prospect
• Current Student
• International Student
• Alumni
• Donor
• Media
• Researchers
• Faculty
• Staff
• Government

10. What is a Goal?

11. @jp_rainsWhat is an Activity?

12. @jp_rainsWhat is an Emotion?
“Everything is
awesome! I
think…”
“I hope I don’t fail”
“Starting to feel the
stress!”
“OMG”
“No.”

14. @jp_rainsWhat is a Barrier?
Professor Tobias
Office Hours
Mon -----
Tues -----
Weds -----
Thurs -----
Fri 9am - 9:30am
ltobias@smu.edu

15. @jp_rainsWhat is an Insight?
The insight we’ve gained and can apply.
• Students have trouble finding programs
because of the long list and confusing names.
We should create a way to find programs that
removes the complexity.

16. Your student experience
needs to be better.
Always.

17. How can you collect
this information?

18. @jp_rainsCollecting data
Qualitative
Focus groups (students, staff, faculty)
Logs of frequently asked questions
Surveys
1 on 1 interviews

19. “Data, I think, is one of the most powerful mechanisms for telling
stories. I take a huge pile of data and I try to get it to tell stories.”
Steven Levitt - Freakonomics Co-Author

20. @jp_rainsCollecting data
Quantitative
Google Analytics
Analysis of inquiries from Social Media
CRM data
Institutional data

21. How can you use this to
improve your efforts?

22. @jp_rainsUsing a Student Journey Map
1. Prioritize investments
2. Simplify the student journey
3. Appreciate the emotional state of students
4. Spread this information
5. Better understand other areas of the student
journey

23. @jp_rainsUsing a Student Journey Map
6. Annual benchmarking
7. Creating new tools
8. Dispelling myths
9. Put students first
10. Avoid HIPPO decision making

24. Students are both our
customer and our product.
Let’s invest in them.

25. JP Rains
VP, Strategy at Soshal
jp.rains@soshal.ca
@jp_rains