Ep. 49 - Jarrett Smith: The Biggest Disconnect on Campus? What Students Want vs. What Colleges Think They Want — The Signal

In this episode of EdTech Connect, host Jeff Dillon talks to Jarrett Smith, Senior VP of Strategy at Echo Delta and co-author of the groundbreaking Designing for Decisions report. Fresh from his eduWeb conference presentation, Jarrett dives into the eye-opening findings from their survey of over 1,000 prospective students, revealing what students actually want from college websites—and where institutions are missing the mark.

From the overwhelming demand for cost transparency to the surprising similarities across student segments, Jarrett challenges common assumptions and shares actionable fixes for enrollment and marketing teams.

Tune in to learn why payment plans are a hidden gem, how to avoid "institutionally centric" pitfalls, and why less personalization might be more effective than you think.

Key Takeaways:

Cost Transparency is King:

Total cost of attendance emerged as the #1 priority across all student segments (traditional, non-traditional, graduate, and international).
Only 17% of students said they can always find what they need on college websites, with 55% admitting they’ve abandoned a site due to frustration.
Fix: Make cost information unmissable—avoid burying it under financial aid links or forcing students to manually calculate totals.

Students Want Clarity, Not Jargon:

Institutional language (e.g., "bursar," "baccalaureate") and org-structure navigation create barriers.
Fix: Audit content for student-friendly terms and prioritize intuitive wayfinding (e.g., Missouri S&T’s program-specific cost breakdowns).

Overestimated vs. Underestimated Priorities:

Overestimated: Program rankings, application deadlines, and "prestige" content.
Underestimated: Payment plans (a "hidden gem"), acceptance rates (critical for traditional undergrads), and student satisfaction metrics.

Segment Similarities > Differences:

Despite assumptions, most student groups prioritize the same core tasks (e.g., cost, academic fit).
Exception: Traditional undergrads care significantly more about debt stats and confidence-building content (e.g., grad success stories).

Simple Fixes for Immediate Impact:

Wayfinding: Ensure cost and program info is easy to find (e.g., UND.edu’s "Find Your Program Cost" form).
Content Hierarchy: Replace institutional jargon with student-centric language.
Research Shortcuts: Watching 5 students navigate your site reveals more than waiting for "perfect" data.

AI’s Role in Future Research:

Synthetic user research (AI-generated personas) shows promise but isn’t yet reliable due to cultural biases in training data.
Heuristic analysis (e.g., usability audits) may benefit from AI—but human insight remains irreplaceable.

Dig deeper: Download the full Designing for Decisions report at https://echodelta.co/designing-for-decisions/ and rethink how your website serves today’s students!

Find Jarrett Smith here:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/smithjarrett/

Echo Delta

https://echodelta.co/

And find EdTech Connect here:

Web: https://edtechconnect.com/

Chapters

(00:00:00) - What Students Really Want From Their Campus Websites
(00:02:04) - The Need for User Research on Website Design
(00:03:35) - Interviewing 1,000 Prospective Students
(00:05:35) - The College Website Sprawl
(00:09:57) - Top Tasks: How to Personalize the Student Survey
(00:12:00) - A Word from Our Sponsor
(00:13:15) - Total Cost of Attendance
(00:17:28) - 3 Ways to Enhance Student Financial Aid
(00:21:10) - Surprising Differences between What Higher Ed Pros Think Students Want and What
(00:22:44) - What Do Traditional Students Care About Most?
(00:24:47) - What's your advice to schools paralyzed by internal debates over content hierarchy
(00:27:11) - What's one simple fix any school could make to its financial aid
(00:28:11) - Beyond Synthetic Research: Future of AI in the Learning Industry