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:

1. 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.

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

• 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).

• 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.

• 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:

LinkedIn

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

Echo Delta

https://echodelta.co/

And find EdTech Connect here:

Web: https://edtechconnect.com/

• (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

Host Jeff Dillon sits down with Jennifer Beyer, VP of Product at Thesis, to explore the evolving landscape of student information systems (SIS) and the unique challenges faced by small to mid-sized colleges. With over two decades of experience spanning campus administration and EdTech leadership, Jennifer shares her mission to simplify higher education processes through cloud-based solutions.

From her beginnings as a first-generation student and campus tour guide to her current role driving product strategy, Jennifer offers insights into how institutions can reduce friction, leverage technology, and prioritize the student experience. Tune in to learn how Thesis Elements is redefining the SIS space and why smaller schools are leading the charge in innovation.

Key Takeaways:

1. Access and Student-Centric Design:

• Jennifer emphasizes the importance of creating technology that helps students find the right fit and enables staff to focus on meaningful work. Her firsthand experience as a first-generation student informs her approach to solving institutional challenges at scale.

• Smaller institutions are moving faster to adopt cloud solutions for scalability, security, and resource efficiency. Thesis Elements focuses on delivering purpose-built, modern SIS solutions that can be implemented in about a year—a fraction of the time required by legacy systems.

• Jennifer highlights the need for integrations, automation, and usability to reduce administrative burdens. For example, streamlining tasks like mass registrations or billing for student housing can significantly improve efficiency for understaffed offices.

• Transitioning from frontline roles in admissions and student success to EdTech taught Jennifer the value of understanding user journeys. She advocates for "purpose-driven design" and engaging directly with campus teams to build solutions that address real pain points.

• AI and partnerships with niche solutions present opportunities to enhance personalization and operational efficiency. However, Jennifer stresses the importance of balancing innovation with security and usability to avoid "shiny object" pitfalls.

• Jennifer’s leadership style centers on curiosity, empowerment, and aligning technology with institutional mission. She believes in getting out of her team’s way to let them solve problems creatively while staying focused on serving smaller colleges effectively.

• For institutions driving transformation, Jennifer advises staying true to core goals and avoiding distractions. Incremental improvements—like reducing clicks in a workflow—can have an outsized impact on daily operations.

Listen to the full episode for more insights on how EdTech is reshaping higher education administration!

Find Jennifer Beyer here:

LinkedIn

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

Thesis

https://www.thesiscloud.com/elements

And find EdTech Connect here:

Web: https://edtechconnect.com/

• (00:00:00) - How AI is changing the way we learn about students
• (00:00:44) - Jennifer Beyer on Higher Ed Tech Connect Podcast
• (00:02:36) - How Ed Tech is reshaping the student experience
• (00:03:45) - In the Elevator With First-Generation Students
• (00:05:18) - CIO Network: The End-User Experience of Software
• (00:07:22) - EdTech Connect: Making higher education processes friction
• (00:10:11) - Small Colleges and Mid-Size Universities
• (00:12:40) - Thesis Elements' Product Development Process
• (00:18:17) - Post-Admissions: The Need for Personalization
• (00:20:37) - Jeff Smith: The Process of Building a Product Team
• (00:23:45) - President of Dean's School: Combining Business and Education
• (00:26:19) - AI and its impact on higher ed administration
• (00:27:18) - The move to the cloud and higher ed tech
• (00:28:29) - What's Driving Meaningful Change in Higher Ed?
• (00:29:36) - How to Write a Great Website for Students
• (00:30:56) - EdTech Connect

In this episode of EdTech Connect, host Jeff Dillon sits down with Eric Kim, co-founder and Chief Creative Officer of Modo Labs, to explore how mobile technology has reshaped higher ed—and where it’s headed next. From Modo’s origins at MIT (inspired by Kabuki stagehands!) to its global impact today, Eric shares how universities can break down silos, leverage AI, and design experiences students actually love.

Hear how early adopters like Sacramento State pioneered mobile registration and food insecurity alerts, why personalization is no longer optional, and how TikTok-era expectations are forcing a rethink of campus apps. Eric also reveals why higher ed’s collaborative spirit hooked him for life, the surprising industries borrowing from campus tech, and his bold vision for AI-powered “conversational” interfaces.

Key Takeaways:

1. The “Kurogo” Philosophy

• Modo’s original name and ethos come from Kabuki theater’s unseen stagehands—making the impossible seamless for users.

• Early wins (like Sac State’s parking heat maps) solved real pain points, but many schools still duct-tape siloed systems instead of unifying experiences.

• Students expect apps to adapt like TikTok: “They assume systems know everything—so they demand value in return.”

• Modo’s AI chatbot drove 235% app usage spikes at Arkansas Pulaski by answering questions in natural language.

• Major financial firms copied campus apps for employee experience—proof universities pioneered workplace tech.

• Student-built Modo tools (food truck trackers, mental health aids) reveal unmet needs.

• Jeff’s confession: “Sometimes progress happens before policies catch up.”

• “Measure engagement with life, not clicks. Did your app help someone’s day?”

Listen Now for a masterclass in designing campus tech that students actually use!

Find Eric Kim here:

LinkedIn

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

Modo Labs

https://modolabs.com/

And find EdTech Connect here:

Web: https://edtechconnect.com/

• (00:00:00) - What's the value of the App?
• (00:00:35) - Interview: Eric Kim
• (00:01:50) - Moto Labs: The Way of Mobile
• (00:03:34) - In the Elevator With Facebook's Andrew Yu
• (00:04:11) - Moto: Make Mobile Awesome for Everyone
• (00:07:29) - What Can Tech Companies Learn From Serving Other Industries?
• (00:08:56) - The Common Mistake in the Digital Experience
• (00:10:08) - Moto Learning: The Creative Uses of the Platform
• (00:13:30) - How to Build a Connected Future
• (00:15:27) - University Apps for Personalization
• (00:19:54) - What trends are you watching closely
• (00:21:35) - What's Keeps You Connected to Higher Ed?
• (00:25:07) - How to Design for Students, Faculty and Staff
• (00:26:49) - How Moda is enabling multi-platform IT
• (00:28:32) - How to Upgrade Your Digital Campus Experience
• (00:29:54) - EdTech Connect