Explore how Student Journey Mapping helps colleges and universities better understand and improve the student experience. This guide breaks down why journey mapping matters, walks through each step of the process, and shows how tools like ConexED can help bring your map to life with actionable data.
A Student Journey Map (SJM) is a visual representation of student touchpoints and their experiences with each stage. Creating an SJM is a way to gain a student’s perspective on how they interact with an institution. Similar to a ‘customer journey’ map, an SJM provides a visual storyline of a student lifecycle.
The ultimate goal of an SJM is to layer data analysis with student input to identify potential pain points of the student experience. By utilizing an SJM, institutions are better able to anticipate needs and implement changes through a student-centric lens.
When you are a student, there seems to be a million things to do and accomplish within your ‘short’ student lifecycle. It’s no wonder many students come to feel overwhelmed with the schooling process–a large contributor to student attrition.
What can we do to help these overwhelmed students? It’s simple: make their experiences easier.
Improving retention is as much an organizational issue as it is an academic one. By developing a Student Journey Map (SJM), institutions can identify what parts of their organization and processes need improvement. It’s a forward-thinking approach that proactively uncovers student pain points rather than relying on assumptions. One notable example is the hidden curriculum—the unspoken expectations and norms in higher education that can easily overwhelm or discourage students. SJM provides a lens to uncover these often-overlooked elements by focusing on the student’s lived experience.
Research published by IEEE shows that institutions using student journey mapping gain deeper insight into how students interact with services and where support falls short. By uncovering hidden barriers in the student experience organizations can see gains in satisfaction and retention. It's not just about streamlining processes—it's about building an environment where student needs are anticipated and supported.
Creating an SJM may sound complex, but in reality, it is simply a collection of qualitative and quantitative data at various student stages. The goal is to visualize every stage of a student’s interaction with the institution–from their first website visit to graduation. Here’s how to get started:
Start by identifying who and what you want the Student Journey Map (SJM) to represent. An SJM is a flexible tool that can vary in scope, from broad to highly specific. You might begin with a comprehensive map that outlines the experiences of all students throughout their entire time at the institution. Alternatively, you could narrow the focus to a particular group, such as first-year students, transfer students, specific majors, etc.--especially if you’ve identified specific pain points within those populations. You may even opt to create an SJM centered around a single service area, like counseling or academic advising.
Select the touchpoints you believe are the ‘major phases’ needed in your SJM. An example of key stages for a comprehensive SJM would be:
● Awareness and Inquiry
● Application and Enrollment
● Orientation
● Academic Engagement
● Student Life
● Graduation and Beyond
This is where the map gets its real value. Gather qualitative and quantitative data from students on every key stage. You might do this through surveys, interviews, support tickets, and CRM insights.
Map out student emotions alongside each key stage. Note if there are trends where students seem confused, anxious, disengaged, overwhelmed, or satisfied. This helps highlight where interventions are most needed.
Use whatever design tool you have to create a visual representation of your findings. Some example tools are Miro, Lucidchart, Google Doc, and SlideDeck.
Based on the SJM and insights, identify opportunities that can be taken to improve the student experience. A good tip is to go beyond ‘fixing’ what’s broken and consider how to truly elevate key stages.
The last step is to review the map with relevant stakeholders–think advisors, staff, and even students themselves. Treat the SJM as a living document and update it regularly as your systems evolve.
One of the most crucial elements of an SJM is the data; the data tells as much of a story as student input. To truly understand where students struggle you need more than just anecdotal insights. You need centralized, real-time data that reflects actual student behavior.
That’s where ConexED becomes a game-changer.
ConexED’s built-in Business Intelligence Dashboard and data analytics allow institutions to track and analyze the entire student experience, from the first inquiry to graduation. Key interactions—whether it’s advising sessions, service appointments, or communication logs—are captured and centralized. This data isn’t siloed either–it’s connected, filterable, and exportable, making it easy to build a journey map that reflects real student experiences rather than assumptions.
With ConexED you can:
● Instantly generate data reports based on filters
● Visualize trends and engagement across multiple departments
● Identify high-friction stages or underserved populations
● Use live, institution-specific data to validate and update your student journey maps
In today’s higher education landscape, understanding and supporting the student experience is no longer optional—it’s essential. Student Journey Mapping provides institutions with a student-centered framework to identify pain points, personalize support, and drive meaningful change to improve engagement and retention. By layering real student input with actionable data, institutions can stop guessing and start solving.
With tools like ConexED, you can take this work further—leveraging centralized data and analytics to ensure your journey maps stay relevant and reflective of actual student behavior.
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