Creating a student ‘journey map’ and improving the course credit transfer experience

Challenge

The development of a wide range of post-secondary pathways means that more students are seeking to enhance their education by transferring between institutions to continue their learning journey. Supporting students through this experience required creating a user-centric system for transferring credits.

Solution

Our work supported a system design update that would enhance the user experience. The Strategic Counsel created a journey map to reveal and detail the experience of the student, beyond simply the moment of transferring credits, when continuing his or her learning journey. The current transfer system was included in the journey to identify facilitators and barriers to a positive experience. Journey mapping clearly revealed where and when problem moments and opportunities arose, allowing unmet needs to be surfaced and solutions to be identified. These details might not have been revealed through a more standard ‘question, discussion, answer’ approach.

Outcome

Our study enabled the system designers to make targeted process modifications, and to develop communications to support students through the transfer system at needed and expected touch points.