the college of law

identifying student needs to inform the future of learning

College of Law is the school of professional practice for legal-based study in Australia and New Zealand. Predominantly delivering their courses online, they are driven to deliver innovative, practice-focused and flexible education and training to enhance the careers of professionals in the legal services industry

Multiyear transformation focusing on a new category of subscription-based learning

Understanding of the current student (customer) base now and into the future

Refreshed personas reflecting today’s student

Newly designed website to address customer needs

Customer Journey Maps identifying drop-off and high engagement points

"The team at LDN undertook thorough stakeholder and customer research helping us truly understand our evolved diverse student base (and those we want to attract in the future). Creating a range of contemporary personas revealed insights that prompted us to evolve our course offering and delivery, positioning College of Law as a leader in the category. Plus they were a real delight to work with, partnering with us at each step of the journey"
Irene Chung
CX & Digital Transformation Business Owner, the College Of Law

the situation

The higher education sector is expected to nimbly adapt and reflect an ever-changing landscape. From educational service (course) provision, through pastoral care and practical student needs there is immense pressure to be a trustworthy and respected partner to students needs across products and services.

the objective​

In partnership with Sudo Roux and The College of Law, Studio LDN was tasked to support the creation of future products, based, not only, on the changing needs of business and technologies but, importantly, around students’ expectations. Our task was to fully understand all customer touchpoints, brand perception, and pain points for students and ultimately develop new personas that are fully reflective of this specific educational need-set.

To do this we conducted a mixed methods research study.

Research – Identify insights that help bridge the gap between stakeholder hypothesis/assumptions and customer journey, pain points and perception.

the process

Business (College Of Law’s world)

Stakeholder analysis – We conducted a series of 2 hour problem-framing workshops with key stakeholders across Australia and New Zealand to understand, define and prioritise business and customer problems. We were able to identify areas of priority for the business. This helped inform areas of focus for our customer interviews and begin developing our initial hypothesis.

Human (real-world customers)

We conducted in-depth one on one interviews across selected student groups to uncover pain points, discover existing career journeys and begin the development and categorisation of personas. Our interviews were structured to deeper understand motivations and ambitions at different stages of the career journey for each segment. By directly interviewing real students and professionals, we were quickly able to build a picture of the needs of a wide range of students, not just of those starting their ‘law journey’ but those upskilling, returning from work after having a child, and those looking to change course.

Environment (big wide world)

Analysis here took into consideration competitor offerings, wider educational trends (such as bite-size courses, the evolved online experience and study at your own pace) as well as some of the broader economic pressures facing students considering training in this industry. Further, we categorised our emerging personas in such a way as to ensure that those that often feel overlooked or unsure could be directly addressed.

The gap

Considering the findings from qualitative interviews against the quantitative data i.e. Google Analytics and CRM systems via marketing and online analytics system. This allowed Studio LDN researchers to triangulate and validate their findings. By applying a mixed methods approach we were able to identify changes in the business and technologies and changes in user demographics and interaction patterns.

the outcome

The process inspired not just a reconfiguration of the current website but kicked off the initial phase of a multiyear transformation project focusing on a new category of subscription-based learning. 

1

business

College of Law can claim a role as the rightful leader in online legal education, proving it’s innovative and future-ready credentials through complete understanding of the needs not only of business, but also today’s students.

2

human

Legal study is an expansive and inspiring option for a wide range of humans. Creating personas that reflect the true diversity of our students ensures we create an experience that will result in training for the real world.

3

environment

In a fast paced world, there is greater need to gain relevant qualifications rapidly and accumulate on-going skills that are as nimble as the humans that choose to study with us.

4

gap

College of Law can throw off the shackles of the perception of law / legal studies as slow, outdated and for a ‘type’ of human. Creating a nimble, diverse and engaging online experience helps us open up law to all.

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