How do you assist students in making an informed choice from over 3000 studies?

In the Netherlands there are more than 3000 courses available at tertiary level in the form of HBO and WO programmes. How can prospective students or parents compare these programmes, and make the right choice? Studiekeuze123 is the official study choice site that helps students in the Netherlands to make a considered decision about their future studies. The platform is a collaboration between students, higher education institutions, and the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture and Science.
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Client

Ministry of Education, Culture and Science

Challenge

To create a central online location for information about education options in the Netherlands

Solution

Studiekeuze123.nl — a collaborative platform for prospective students and educational institutions

About the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science

The Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW) is on a mission to build a smart, skilled, and creative Netherlands. OCW wants everyone that can to enjoy a good education, and to be prepared for a lifetime of independence and responsibility.

Compare studies? Look at Studiekeuze123.nl

It is not easy for prospective students in the Netherlands to find the study programme that suits them best. Dozens of universities and colleges have their own corner of the internet, and they're all competing to attract students.

Studiekeuze123 brings together all the information that prospective students and their parents need, on one convenient platform. With objective study information and useful study choice tools such as interest tests and an orientation meter, the prospective student has everything they need to make an informed choice.

Focus on the prospective student

It’s logical that the prospective student should be central on a platform where people make study choices that can influence the rest of their lives. That’s why we’ve made it as easy as possible for them at Studiekeuze123.

For example, the platform centralises all data and information from the individual colleges and universities — just think of start dates, open days, assessments, and the language of instruction. That volume of information has to be comprehensible and accessible. That is why we pay a lot of attention to the user experience and work to continuously refine the website design.

195% increase in conversion

We carry out usability tests and release new components while measuring and optimising every page. Now you can find background information about the various programmes efficiently and make comparisons on Studiekeuze 123.

Our optimisations have delivered considerable results: the conversion rates from the study programme pages on Studiekeuze123, to the websites of the educational institutions has increased by 195%.

Alongside these results, the content on the website is more relevant, and is consulted more often. The platform is becoming more essential every day.

iO: digital partner to Studiekeuze123

Studiekeuze123 is an initiative led by the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, in collaboration with students and higher education institutions. At iO, we have been working with Studiekeuze123 since 2016 to maintain and optimise the digital ecosystem, the platform, and the associated tools.

Studiekeuze123 in figures

3092
Education programmes
235
Educational institutions
+195%
Increase in conversion via training pages
+48%
Increase in organic traffic

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