How to Map the Student Journey to Grow Your Program and Impact

When you think about satisfied, engaged, loyal learners, it can be easy to fixate on the in-class experience. But the student experience encompasses so much more than what happens in class, and each touch point offers an opportunity to build goodwill. Actually mapping out the student journey can help your program spot these opportunities and prioritize improvements at the right moments. The end goal? A consistent, quality experience from the first time a potential student interacts with your brand all the way through turning them into a life-long advocate for your organization.

This article covers how to map the student journey and ways to improve each stage. You'll learn how to turn first-time registrants into life-long learners, participants, and donors.

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How to Map Your Student Journey

The student journey is the path students take as they discover your program, sign up for classes, attend sessions, and remain connected to your organization afterward. Ideally, the student journey is more of a cycle than a line. You want students to find your program, love it, and register again and again, and spread the word to their friends and family. The best way to make that happen is to give them a positive student experience at every interaction. 

Mapping the student journey helps you understand how students are discovering your program, where they may be opting out or feeling dissatisfied, and what types of nurturing or ongoing communication keep them engaged over time. 

You can map the student journey visually or in list form. Flow charts, sticky notes, or software tools (like FigJam or Miro) can all be useful. The exact tools you use are a matter of preference. What’s most important is that you’re able to track how students move through each stage of the process. Read on for a deep dive into each stage of the student journey, along with questions you can ask to help you understand the student experience during that part of the process.

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1. Discovery: How Students Find You

Ideally, there are many avenues for prospective students to discover your organization and offerings. They may see a flyer in their local coffee shop, use a search engine to find “classes near me”, or hear your offerings mentioned during an event or performance at your facility. When mapping the discovery process, consider all the ways students find you. 

If possible, figure out what percentage of students discover your program in each way. For example our stats on CourseStorm customers tells us that 25% of students find classes using search engines while 22% use social media. Knowing this can help you understand where to invest resources and to spot opportunities that you’re missing.

Once you know how students are finding you, consider the following questions and the corresponding ways you can enhance discovery:

• How is your brand communicated? Clearly communicate your brand by speaking to an identified target audience and articulating your unique mission. This will help you create connection and resonance with the right folks in your community.

• How visible is your program online? Improve discoverability by claiming your Google my business profile, including your address prominently on your website, maintaining social media pages with up-to-date contact information, optimizing your website and course catalog for search engines.
• How present is your program in the community? Make sure your community knows about your program by prioritizing digital and physical spaces where they spend time. You might: post flyers around town, partner with local businesses, or sponsor or table at local events.
• How easy is it to browse your website? Optimize your website by putting a link to your course catalog front and center. Make sure to include clear and organized menus and check for broken links.
• How easy is it for patrons to find what they’re interested in? Make your course catalog easy to navigate by sorting by topic and age group, including a search function, and offering filtering options.‍
• Are you sharing enough information about each class? Help students understand the value and detail of your class offerings by including location, age limits, and promised outcomes in your course descriptions.

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2. Signing Up / Pre-Class: Registration and Preparation

In our post-Amazon era, people expect online experiences to be super easy, which means signing up for your classes needs to be simple and intuitive. If you hear about potential students or parents getting frustrated, or if you see a lot of clicks to your course catalog with no sign-ups, you may need to streamline your registration process. 

The registration experience happens at a critical moment in the student journey, right before you ask them to part with their money. It's important to create confidence rather than anxiety with a clear process. The communication that follows will either provide additional clarity and assurance or create confusion. Both touch points matter and heavily influence how relaxed (or unrelaxed) a student feels leading up to their actual class. Later, their memory of these experiences may sway them to either sign up for another class with your program or look for something else to do.

Consider the following questions and use these tips for optimizing your class registration process:

• How simple is it to sign up for your classes and camps? Modern students want online, mobile-first registration options. Prominently place registration buttons or links so students can sign up right from your catalog. If it's necessary to create an account, make this a step within the check-out process rather than forcing students to make the account first.
• Is there a waitlist if the class is full? Automatically add registrants to waiting lists if a class is full. This makes students feel looked after, keeps the lines of communication open, and helps you make sure classes stay full.
• Do students/parents have the info they need to prepare for class? If possible, share safety information, materials lists, and other important class details on your registration forms and confirm these details in email communications after registration is complete. These first emails are another great place to showcase your brand and unique tone.
• Does your team have all of the info they need for easy check in? Build registration forms that gather all of the information you need to ensure check in goes smoothly for your staff and your patrons.‍
• Is communication clear and consistent? Create scheduled emails to remind students of upcoming classes and relevant details. Make sure each email is clear and focused. If canceling or postponing a class, make sure students have the information they need to rebook or switch to another session.

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3. In Class: Instructors and Class Content

You and your team put a lot of effort into building your class catalog and content. However, the in-class experience is broader than the topic being taught. The physical space, instructor interactions, and methods of feedback collection all influence the student journey at this stage. 

When mapping the student journey, pay special attention to the check-in process. Instructors should have organized up-to-date rosters. And, ideally, all payments should have been processed prior to the start of class. Some programs allow students to sign up late and pay a prorated fee; in these cases, it's ideal if that can all take place in your registration platform. This way, the student-instructor relationship can stay focused on learning. 

Consider the following questions and tips to audit and improve your organization's in-class experience: 

• Is check-in smooth and straight forward? Students should be able to quickly orient themselves in the classroom and instructors should be able to quickly assess who's present and who's missing. Class rosters and clear communication about check-in can help.
• Is the space conducive to the class? Make sure students and instructors have enough space and the right set-up. Consider seating, tables, access to restrooms and the temperature and lighting in the space.
• Are students receiving the appropriate amount of attention? Set class sizes so instructors can support students. Overbooking classes may bring in more revenue, but it can strain the student-instructor relationship.
• How are instructors evaluated? Consider how you’ll assess instructors. Classroom observation, self-reviews, peer-reviews and student feedback can all play a role.
• How are you collecting and applying student feedback? Programs may offer student feedback surveys in class or after class. Instructors can also gather anecdotes and quotes from students during sessions.

‍Pro tip: Your classes and camps can be a gold mine for impact stories that can support critical fundraising efforts. Make sure to visit your classes to gather testimonials and images from students and instructors (accounting for permissions and releases)!

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4. Nurture: Building Long-Term Relationships and Customer Advocates

Leading programs know that the student journey extends far beyond the end of a student's first class. Among CourseStorm customers, 35% of arts students return for another class. You can increase the odds that students will re-enroll by nurturing the relationship after the first class. 

Sending requests for feedback is a good start, but there’s more that you can and should do to turn first-time students into lifelong advocates. Meaningful communication at least a couple of times a month helps students stay connected to your program. Consider sharing personalized class recommendations, special offers, event invites, or surveys about future programming. You can also add students to your donor email lists and include them when sharing news about your organization.

Here's a list of questions you can use to review your post-class experience:

• What tactics and messages are you using to keep people engaged? Email is a powerful channel for personalized student communication. You can supplement this with SMS, traditional mailings, social media surveys, and special offers.
• How are you inviting first-time students to return? Consider offering special discounts or promotions to first-time students. A targeted class recommendation with a special early sign up window for returning students can also encourage repeat sign-ups.
• Are your class recommendations personalized? If you’re sending emails, mailings, or texts directly to students, consider whether you can personalize class recommendations based on classes the student has already taken. (At CourseStorm, we make this easy with automated marketing features!)
• How do you encourage referrals? Bring-a-friend promotions or discounts for signing up multiple people at once can make students more likely to spread the word about their positive experience with your classes. 
• What tactics do you use to re-engage students who haven’t signed up in a while? Some students may just be waiting for the right class or invitation. Send targeted mailings or special promotions. You can also send a simple feedback request inviting students to share their reasons.‍
• Have you added students to your donor mailing lists? Students who enjoyed your classes may be interested in helping to support your program. Include them on donor requests and annual appeals.

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How to Use Your Student Journey Map

Once you’ve completed your student journey map, take a look at the whole process from discovery through nurturing. Notice if there are any opportunities you’re missing. Remember that every interaction with a student offers an opportunity to build positive sentiment and increase engagement.

You don’t have to apply every possible tactic, but even a few small adjustments can deliver big results. Look for changes that can have a the most impact for your specific community. If parent complaints are high, focus on improving the sign up experience. If you're struggling to turn first-time students into repeat students, focus on nurture. And of course, consider how your technology supports (or hinders) the student experience as improving your tech might improve all areas of the student journey.

For example, organizations that switch to CourseStorm average +18% growth in enrollments in the first year because our simple class registration software can up-level each stage. 

Our searchable, sortable course catalogs enhance discovery. The intuitive interface makes the sign-up process a breeze. Instructor access gives instructors the information they need to stay focused on student interactions in class. Finally, promo codes and automatic class marketing emails help you nurture positive student relationships. 

And these are just a few of the features that make CourseStorm impossibly simple. Get your free demo today to learn more.