Open Universities Australia
A new stream of student leads, but no control over the enrolment experience. How I made sure Open Universities Australia (OUA) students and direct students both had a smooth enrolment and student journey.
TLDR;
I made sure students coming through Open Universities Australia got the same enrolment and support experience as direct students, even though we didn't control their enrolment journey.
What I learned
- Start with the end-to-end journey, not individual systems. A change to one enrolment pathway can have implications across multiple platforms and business processes. Understanding the complete journey is essential before defining technical requirements.
- Not every user needs the same process. A consistent student experience does not mean forcing every student through the same workflow. Good product decisions account for different user needs while preserving access to the services that matter.
- Translate business opportunities into clear technical requirements. Successful delivery depends on connecting the original business objective to specific system behaviours, process changes and stakeholder needs.
- Design for future growth, not just the initial launch. Where possible, solutions should accommodate future expansion without requiring the entire integration and its processes to be redesigned.
Outcomes
- Enabled a new enrolment channel: Established the systems and processes required to support student enrolments originating through the OUA marketplace, creating an additional growth opportunity for TUA.
- Delivered an end-to-end student experience: Enabled OUA students to access relevant TUA services, including the student portal, academic documentation and Canvas, while accounting for processes that did not apply to their enrolment pathway.
- Connected the student lifecycle across multiple platforms: Supported the flow of enrolment information into TUA's student systems and the downstream processes required to support students throughout their studies.
- Created a scalable solution: Established a repeatable approach to supporting OUA enrolments, providing a foundation for additional courses and individual subjects to be offered through the partnership.
- Balanced business, compliance and user needs: Aligned the requirements of OUA, internal business teams and technical stakeholders to deliver a solution that supported the partnership without simply replicating the standard direct-enrolment journey.
Context
Torrens University Australia (TUA) established a partnership with Open Universities Australia (OUA), making selected full courses and individual subjects available through the OUA marketplace. This created a new channel for student acquisition and an opportunity to grow enrolments through a third-party platform.
Problem
Students enrolling through OUA entered TUA through a different enrolment pathway, but still needed access to the university's core student services and systems. The challenge was to adapt TUA's existing student lifecycle processes to accommodate OUA students without compromising their experience or creating unnecessary administrative overhead. Some processes, such as subject registration through TUA's standard enrolment funnel, were not applicable to OUA students. However, access to the TUA student portal, academic documentation and Canvas Learning Management System (LMS), remained essential. The solution needed to distinguish between these different requirements while ensuring OUA students received a seamless, relevant and consistent experience across TUA's interconnected platforms.
My role
As Product Owner for Student Experience and Support, I was responsible for defining the end-to-end student journey for OUA students and translating the partnership's business requirements into changes across multiple platforms within my product portfolio. This involved working with business stakeholders to identify which processes needed to change, understanding compliance requirements, defining the target student experience, and coordinating technical teams to deliver the required changes across the student lifecycle.
Solution and Delivery
With the target student journey mapped and validated by business stakeholders, I coordinated the definition and delivery of technical requirements across the Student Experience and Support product portfolio. The solution enabled OUA enrolment data to flow into TUA's student systems and supported the downstream processes required for students to access relevant university services, learning platforms and academic documentation, while accounting for processes that did not apply to their enrolment pathway. By aligning business requirements, compliance considerations and technical delivery across multiple platforms, I helped establish a repeatable integration that supported the launch of this new enrolment channel.