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Case study 04 / 05

Enroller

A student choosing a school abroad is also choosing a neighbourhood. I led design for Enroller’s school marketplace, shaped around what each side needed. Students got a map to choose by and one place to apply. Agencies got the structure to manage whole teams of agents.

Overview
Client
Enroller
Role
Product Design Lead - hybrid designer and PM across web and mobile
When
2022 - 2025
Work
Product Design, Research
The challenge

Enroller connects international students with New Zealand schools and the education agents who guide them. Three problems stood between a student and a confirmed place. Choosing a school from a list. Applying through scattered channels. And agencies trying to run whole teams on a product built for one agent.

The insight

The same pattern ran through all three: one interface stretched across very different jobs. Students choosing a school needed something different from students applying to one. Agencies managing their teams needed something else again. Each side needed a product built around its own work.

[I]

Picture the neighbourhood first.

International students wanted to know what an area was like and what was around each school. Often the deciding factor was how close it was to the relatives they planned to live with. A list of schools couldn’t answer any of that. So the marketplace gained a map. It shows schools among their surroundings and points of interest. Students can search by location to judge the distance from where they will live. They could picture their life there before they applied.

The marketplace: schools searchable by name, with filters and a map view toggle
Fig. 01The marketplace: schools searchable by name, with filters and a map view toggle
Map view: schools clustered by region, with location and distance search
Fig. 02Map view: schools clustered by region, with location and distance search
Zoomed in to a neighbourhood, with points of interest switched on around each school
Fig. 03Zoomed in to a neighbourhood, with points of interest switched on around each school
[II]

One place to apply.

Applying to study abroad is daunting at the best of times. I interviewed current and past students and mapped their journey, stage by stage. From that came a single portal. Students find the documents and resources they need in one place. A timeline sets out what to expect at every stage. It shipped as a working portal for Educatius, an Enroller client. Juno, the full application platform being built for them, was still in development.

The parent and prospective student journey map: eight stages, from finding a school to applying, with the feelings, pain points and opportunities at each
Fig. 04The parent and prospective student journey map: eight stages, from finding a school to applying, with the feelings, pain points and opportunities at each
Admission, step 2: applying to the program, with a checklist of the documents needed and downloadable guidelines
Fig. 05Admission, step 2: applying to the program, with a checklist of the documents needed and downloadable guidelines
Admission, step 3: while the offer is pending, articles that prepare students for the visa, their host family and studying abroad
Fig. 06Admission, step 3: while the offer is pending, articles that prepare students for the visa, their host family and studying abroad
The Enrolment stage: a timeline of upcoming deadlines (visa, flights, medicals, vaccinations) above the next steps, starting with the visa application
Fig. 07The Enrolment stage: a timeline of upcoming deadlines (visa, flights, medicals, vaccinations) above the next steps, starting with the visa application
[III]

Built for the whole agency.

Every school in New Zealand has its own application requirements and workflow. Managing a caseload across many schools was hard enough for one agent. For an agency coordinating several agents across one branch or many, it was close to impossible. The agency system gives them the structure they were missing. The agency, its branches and its people sit in one clear hierarchy. Role levels control who can see and do what. And a student’s application can be handed from one agent to another.

The agency view: details, every branch and its users, roles and enrolment numbers, and all applications
Fig. 08The agency view: details, every branch and its users, roles and enrolment numbers, and all applications
A branch: its users and their roles (admin, app management, read only), and the branch’s applications
Fig. 09A branch: its users and their roles (admin, app management, read only), and the branch’s applications
An agent’s view: their enquiries and enrolments, and the applications assigned to them
Fig. 10An agent’s view: their enquiries and enrolments, and the applications assigned to them
[IV]

The calls that mattered.

  1. 01Research before screens. A multi-day discovery program brought several departments to the table. Interviews and mapping sessions set out how the work really flowed, before anything was designed.
  2. 02Prototypes over presentations. Working prototypes, built quickly with AI, tested ideas with decision makers early. The approach went on to shape how the wider development team worked.
  3. 03One consistent look and feel across three brands. A shared library of designs and components, built to international accessibility standards, was rolled out across three brand platforms. Every product started from the same foundation.
[V]

The result.

Each side of the marketplace got a product built around its own job. Education agents reported students choosing their school with more enthusiasm. Agencies gained the structure to run their teams. Feedback from clients was positive, and Enroller kept its existing clients through the move to the new platform.

Next step

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