The University of Southampton

Challenge

Create a sense of belonging to encourage students to apply to The University of Southampton.

Solution

Share individual experiences of existing student life in an engaging way at the right point in the user journey.

<aside> 💡 User needs to meet   As a prospective student, when deciding if this is a place I could see myself, I need to: • feel that this is a great place to study • know I will be safe and supported here • know there are people here like me

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What I did

• Tested what types of student experiences users found interesting
• Collaborated with designers to understand the optimum journey for this content
• Tested what types of student experience content users were drawn to
• Identified case study students with stories to share that aligned to popular themes from user testing in this area
• Conducted one-to-one interviews to source content
• Collaborated with designers and developers to create a template with new and reusable components
• Developed new content, including use of video, for testing
• Co-facilitated user research sessions where this particular product tested positively
• Created onward journey options - which previously didn’t exist - into other stories, courses, campuses and facilities mentioned
• Formalised template, content patterns and component toolkit used for all future student stories

The impact

The representation of student experience was elevated and designed into the core acquisition journey.

New template and content pattern created and rolled out across the live site.

This product met a group of user needs in a core journey.

Before

Previous example of student stories on the website

After

Student story example content, design and onward journey links that tested positively and formed the basis for the new product created.

<aside> 💡 View the live content here: https://www.southampton.ac.uk/study/subjects/discovering-glaciers-in-switzerland-my-third-year-field-trip

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