Using UX Design to Attract More Student Applications

Prospective students spend less than 60 seconds on a university homepage before making a judgment — and most visit only a handful of pages. If your website reflects your internal organizational structure rather than how students actually think and search, you're likely losing applicants before they ever reach your application page.

In this webinar, Northern's higher education experts — Jay Ménard (Director, User Experience and Content Strategy), Matt Robb (Creative Director), Christine Saunders (Senior Account Director), and Victor Harris (VP, Public Service) — share practical UX strategies to help your institution stand out, build trust, and drive more applications. The team draws on more than 20 years of experience to show how aligning your site around student needs creates clearer journeys and measurable enrollment results.

What you'll learn:

• Breaking Through the Sea of Sameness: How to move past the stock imagery, generic messaging, and predictable layouts that make most institution websites indistinguishable.
• Designing for Students, Not Org Charts: Why websites built around faculties and departments fail prospective students, and how to restructure navigation around the questions they're actually asking.
• Creating a Memorable Visual Identity: How consistent colors, authentic photography, clear typography, and recognizable brand elements make your institution instantly identifiable.
• Leveraging Social Proof and Dynamic Media: How student testimonials, alumni success stories, and virtual campus tours build trust and help prospective students picture themselves at your institution.
• Simplifying the Application Process: How to reduce barriers by providing clear pathways to the right application type and ensuring your calls to action are always accessible and contextual.

Whether you're planning a full redesign or targeting specific improvements, this session gives you a clear framework for making UX decisions that directly support your enrollment goals.

Want to explore how UX design can support your enrollment strategy?

Connect with our team to discuss how these approaches can help your institution turn more website visitors into applicants.