Standing in a room full of university registrars, Ken challenged them to prove him wrong when it comes to the general acceptance of forms.
No one corrected him when Ken said that if you asked 100 people if they like filling out forms, a vehicle to collect student information, they would likely receive 100 No’s.
OK, to be fair, maybe 98 would say ‘no’ because there’s probably some people like Ken who have an unhealthy obsession with forms.
Ken was at the recent Upper Midwest Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers (UMACRAO) and the week prior at the Pacific ACRAO where he addressed the topic of form design and how poor design impacts admin time and student interactions. He was fortunate enough to present form design tips and hints to people who are alert to ‘why’ form design matters.
No one likes filling out forms because they represent a barrier between us and the goal we are trying to achieve. Forms are an obstacle and human nature is to get through them as quickly as possible.
In the world of Higher Education this couldn’t be more true.
If you want to attend college, you fill out a form. Want to challenge your grade, change your name, update personal information, graduate or become an alumnus? Fill out a form!
A captive audience
Sure, students have no choice but to fill out these forms in order for their request to become fulfilled, but if the form is confusing exceptionally complex, they will seek help. They will appear at the registrar’s office counter. They will call or email and that means valuable staff time being tied up helping them when staff could be focused on more important tasks. All because the form was not designed with the user in mind.
CampusRight helps the student data collection process be more bearable for students and staff. Our mission is to help registrars and admissions professionals, frustrated by manual processes, move to a world of easy automation. If you think a custom demonstration would help understand how CampusRight, a mobile platform for students and staff with forms and approvals, could help you, email sales@rightlabs.com
