The document discusses crucial factors for enhancing online enrollment in higher education, emphasizing the importance of speed, simplicity, and effective task completion on college websites. Key points include adult students' tendency to skip traditional recruiting and the need for websites to facilitate quick access to essential information, such as pricing and program details. It highlights the necessity of optimizing site performance to reduce bounce rates and improve conversions for potential students.

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SPEED, SIMPLICITY & TOP TASK
COMPLETION:
3 CRITICAL STEPS TO BOOST
ONLINE ENROLLMENT
©ROBERT E. JOHNSON, PH.D. 2013
Robert E. Johnson, Ph.D.
President, Bob Johnson Consulting
Effective Marketing for Online Education
December 10, 2013

2. 2
Carol Aslanian research…
http://bit.ly/15WFLVw
• “A college’s
website is the single most
important tool for attracting adult students.
• “… an increasing number of adult students
bypass the traditional recruiting cycle and
move straight from a search engine to a
college’s website to complete an
application, without any prior direct contact
with the college.”
• “Hindsight, Insight, Foresight: Understanding Adult Learning Trends
to Predict Future Opportunities”

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THE GOLDEN RULE…
<5 seconds to connect
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MAJOR REASON PEOPLE GO
TO YOUR WEBSITE…
Complete a task…
Usually just 3 to 5
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Top tasks for future students…
Important…
Not very important…
• Price information
• Social media
• Financial aid
connections
• Info about presidents,
deans, alumni
• School news
• Connecting with
current students
• Investment return
after graduation
• Academic programs
• Time to earn the
degree
• Flexible scheduling

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HOW TO KEEP ONLINE
STUDENTS AWAY FROM
YOUR WEBSITE
The need for speed…
Online, slow can kill
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PERFORMANCE IS A
PRIORITY…
“It’s possible to address
performance concerns... most
people don’t.”
Tim Kadlec, Implementing Responsive Design

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MOST LIKELY TO KEEP PEOPLE
FROM ENTERING YOUR
WEBSITE…
Slow download speed…
more than 5 seconds

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From a KISSmetrics report…
http://bit.ly/14V7m92
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Trend to bigger, slower web pages…
Radware for Fall 2013 at… http://bit.ly/H0uNaV

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Result: longer time to interact…
Increases bounce rate, decreases conversions
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Slower on every browser…
Web Performance Today at http://bit.ly/1525Y7P
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10 fastest business sites… <4seconds
Web Performance Today http://bit.ly/1525Y7P

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Tablet users have high expectations…
http://bit.ly/HUPxPj (March 2012 research)

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That are not being met…
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RESPONSIVE DESIGN
ADVISORY…
Reduce content as much
as possible…

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Get priorities in order…
http://bit.ly/1aVCAiZ
• Start with mobile
expectations…
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Create a simple
design
Highlight important
info (AKA: top tasks)
Feature calls-toaction
Keep sites quick
Optimize for screen
size

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If you were starting RD from scratch…
Build from mobile up…
If from desktop down…
• Less content
• Eliminate garbage
• Fewer images
• Not all content is
• Cleaner design
“ready for responsive”
• Wait to launch until all
key pages are ready
• Does everyone
understand “speed”?
• Faster operating site

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UC San Diego on a PC… 2.69 seconds
http://www.webpagetest.org/

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5 seconds on different devices…
Test mobile at http://mobitest.akamai.com/m/index.cgi
Regular home page…
Smartphone redesign…

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RD vs. mobile download speed…
http://mobitest.akamai.com/m/index.cgi
Top RD website… 3.57s
(average of 3 tests)
Top mobile website… 1.80s

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Mobile site speed leader… 12 requests

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RD site speed leader… 28 requests

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MOST LIKELY TO DRIVE PEOPLE
FROM YOUR WEBSITE…
Confusing navigation,
poor menus and links

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Adult students… Large public
Negative votes
20%
Up-to-date
Accurate
Complete
Language
Contact
Participation
Open
Recommendations
Search
Navigation
Layout
Visual appeal
Speed
15%
Positive votes
10%
5%
0%
5%
10%

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Online students… Small private
Negative votes
10%
Up-to-date
Accurate
Complete
Language
Contact
Participation
Open
Recommendations
Search
Menus and Links
Layout
Visual appeal
Speed
5%
Positive votes
0%
5%
10%
15%

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TOP TASKS ONLINE
STUDENTS WANT TO
COMPLETE…
How can your website help?
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TOP TASKS WE’LL COVER IN
MORE DETAIL TODAY…
1.
2.
3.
4.
Understand how the degree will help with
career advancement.
Calculate price information.
Find academic program information.
Easily make inquiries.

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TWO UNUSUAL TOP TASK
TREATMENTS…
Right from the home page…
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Priority: why adults return to college…
http://www.capella.edu/
Task #1: career advancement

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Priority: cost, right from the start…
http://www.strayer.edu/
Task #2: price information

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Offer a simple net price calculator…
https://www.aidcalc.com/snhu/

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FOR INDIVIDUAL ACADEMIC
PROGRAM AREAS…
Top tasks at a glance…
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Professional school home page…
http://management.bu.edu/

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Easy to scan program choices…
http://management.bu.edu/graduate/graduate-programs/
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Class profiles by academic areas…
http://management.bu.edu/graduate/graduate-admissions/profile/

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BLESSEDLY BRIEF
INQUIRY FORMS…
The longer a form, the fewer people
who will complete it

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Right from the home page is faster…
Task #4: inquiries

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And this is even faster…
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Everything at a glance…
http://www.cstudies.ubc.ca/about/contact.html
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Asking for preferred contact options…
https://www.scps.nyu.edu/contactUs.htm

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Program specific examples…
http://www.drexel.com/online-degrees/engineering-degrees/ms-engtech/index.aspx & http://www.wlc.edu/ags/maed/
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Contact info from the program page…
http://www.regis.edu/CPS/Academics/Degrees-and-Programs/UndergraduatePrograms/Bachelor-of-Science-in-Accounting.aspx

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OTHER TASKS TO
CONSIDER FOR SPECIAL
GROUPS…
How can your website help?

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Pre-app transfer credit review…
http://information.devry.edu/us/transfer-students?vc=167161

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Special page for the military…
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Most vet sites focus on cost…
Walden University…
Liberty University…

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Video for vets… a personal story
http://www.devry.edu/admissions/military.html
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TECHNIQUES TO
PERSONALIZE THE
EXPERIENCE…
How can you connected with
potential students?
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Clear, friendly admission requirements…
http://www.stedwards.edu/admission/adultlearners/requirements
• Write like this…
• “We consider your work
and life experience,
your....”
• 10 times…
• Use of “you” or “your” on
this page
• Abolish…
• “Applicants must…”
language

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Chat contact for immediate questions…
http://www.snhu.edu/Continuing-Education.aspx

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Repeat the call to action…
http://www.mbaregis.com/
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Repeat the call to action…
http://www.mbaregis.com/
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Social media promo on website…
http://www.phoenix.edu/students/online-communities.html

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GROWING IMPORTANCE
FOR VIDEO…
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Add video for program promotion…
http://www.youtube.com/user/UBCContinuingStudies

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Personal stories are best told in video…
http://www.kenan-flagler.unc.edu/programs/emba/work-life-balance

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PUTTING CONTENT ON
THE PAGE…
K.I.S.S…
Simple, fast task completion
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WEB READERS ARE SCAN
READERS…
If people can’t scan your pages, people won’t
read your content…
Important, inexpensive, quick change starts with
a cursor…
Change big paragraphs to small paragraphs

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Not so scannable on this page…
http://www.cofc.edu/about/index.php
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Easy to scan page…
http://www.cofc.edu/academics/index.php
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Eliminate dense blocks of text…
• Short paragraphs… 50 words or less
• One-sentence paragraph is OK
• Short sentences… 5 to 10 words
• Subheads…
• Active words, not labels
• Flow from the primary page heading
• Bullet points
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Can’t scan “Program Highlights”…

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Web-friendly content editing…
• The BS in Elementary Education is a Florida Department of Education
(FLDOE) approved program that culminates with both Reading and ESOL
endorsement.
• The program includes courses in teaching students with English as a second
•
•
•
•
language, students with exceptionalities, reading competency, classroom
management, assessment, and integrated approaches to teaching methodologies at
the elementary school level.
Students will learn to facilitate lessons that integrate math and science, health,
music and movement, as well as literature, fine arts, language arts, and social
sciences.
Field experience requirements are progressive in nature, building upon previous
semester experiences.
Students will observe teachers in the field, teach lessons through the practicum
courses, and complete a full-time teaching internship in their final semester.
Courses are offered for full-time and part-time students, with blended and online
courses where applicable.
Students will complete one upper division literacy course (3 credit hours) taught by
Florida Gulf Coast University faculty.

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Easy to scan “Admissions” links…
http://www4.esu.edu/admissions/index.cfm

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Easy to scan “About” page…
http://www.stanford.edu/about/
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WRAPPING UP…
Mistakes to avoid…
Resources to follow.
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Check mobile after the home page…

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Fix long blocks of dense text…
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And these mistakes as well…
• Broken links…
• Dated content…
• Photos not related to page content…

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Follow how adults access the web…
http://bit.ly/11zdtx1

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Make the case for speed…
http://www.copyblogger.com/website-speed-matters/

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A speedy guide to going mobile…
http://www.implementingresponsivedesign.com/
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Test for “real world” performance…
http://www.guypo.com/uncategorized/real-world-rwd-performance-take-2/

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Compare mobile site performance…
http://mobitest.akamai.com/m/index.cgi

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Key points going forward…
• Speed is critical at every step
• Top task completion is a priority
• Cost information presented early
• Student profiles by academic areas
• Calls to action repeated often
• Blessedly brief inquiry forms
• Video story telling
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THANKS FOR BEING
HERE IN SAN DIEGO!
Bob Johnson, Ph.D. (248.766.6425)
bob@bobjohnsonconsulting.com
www.bobjohnsonconsulting.com
@highedmarketing on Twitter
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