Student User Journey Project

Improving the Student Web Experience at Portland State University

Portland State University is partnering with higher education marketing agency SimpsonScarborough on a Student User Journey Project focused on improving how prospective and current students find, navigate and use information across PSU’s web ecosystem.

The project examines how students discover, navigate, and engage with information across PSU’s web content designed for students — from initial exploration and admissions through enrollment, academics, student services, and graduation.

This work supports PSU’s ongoing commitment to creating a more student-centered, accessible, and high quality web experience.

Project Goals

The Student User Journey Project is designed to:

• Better understand the needs, expectations, and behaviors of prospective and current students as they use PSU websites
• Identify barriers, friction points, and opportunities across the university’s web presence
• Improve content organization, navigation, and pathways to key student information and services
• Support more consistent and intuitive experiences across PSU web properties
• Strengthen connections between institutional storytelling, recruitment, enrollment, and student success
• Ensure web experiences align with accessibility and usability best practices

What the Project Includes

The project has included a broad discovery, research and strategy process involving:

• Stakeholder interviews and collaborative workshops
• Student focus groups and feedback
• Website analytics and user behavior analysis
• Review of peer and competitor institutions
• Assessment of PSU’s current navigation, content structure and user journeys
• Review of chatbot queries and other indicators of student information needs
• Development of recommendations for future content strategy, navigation, governance and digital experience

Insights gathered during this process will help inform recommendations for future improvements to PSU’s web experience.

A Collaborative Effort

The Student User Journey Project is a collaborative initiative involving University Marketing & Communications, OIT, Enrollment Management, the Graduate School, student support units, academic programs and other campus partners. Students, faculty, staff and university leaders have contributed perspectives throughout the research and review process.

The project reflects PSU’s broader commitment to continuous improvement, digital accessibility, and delivering clear, helpful, and welcoming web experiences for all students.

What We’re Learning

Research conducted as part of the project has reinforced the importance of making PSU’s web experience simpler and more student-centered. Emerging opportunities include reducing unnecessary complexity and duplication, making important student information easier to find, strengthening academic program content, creating clearer pathways for prospective students, and establishing more consistent approaches to managing web content across the university.

These findings are informing the project’s final recommendations and will help PSU prioritize future improvements.

Project Status

The Student User Journey Project has completed its primary discovery and research activities and is now in the strategy and recommendations phase.

SimpsonScarborough has synthesized findings from student and stakeholder research, website analytics, peer institution research, chatbot queries and its assessment of PSU’s current web experience. The project team is currently reviewing recommendations for improving how PSU organizes, manages and delivers web content for prospective and current students.

Final recommendations are expected in September 2026. Following completion of the strategy, PSU will begin identifying near-term improvements to implement within the current web environment while developing priorities and plans for longer-term improvements.

Project Timeline

Questions about the project may be directed to Kurt Bedell in University Marketing & Communications.