Internet Learning Volume 5, Number 1, Fall 2016/Winter 2017 | Page 18

Internet Learning Volume 5 Number 1 - Fall 2016/Winter 2017
An Academy Customer Experience
Benchmark Observation
Erik Bean, University of Phoenix
Abstract
How do academies use customer experience (CX) leadership theory?
How do they employ and measure it? A content analysis and brief
survey was employed to examine a University of Phoenix research
center website iteration to define the customer personas of dissertation
chairs, its largest customers who utilize the Center for Leadership
Studies and Educational Research center for guidance to formulate
research studies geared toward publication. These customers (known
as affiliates) were also measured whether they believed that implicit
promises made were kept, a necessity of purposeful CX strategy. The
results revealed that the personas who needed the most publication
support did agree that promises made were kept. The study recognized
a default CX website version so that enhancements could help
transport affiliate customers along the CX continuum based on what
they believed was important to their professional development, more
interactions such as collaborative webpages.
Keywords: Customer experience (CX) theory, User experience, Persona,
Web design, Measurement analysis, Doctoral programs
In 2014, University of Phoenix, one
of the most scrutinized universities
since its inception in 1976 offering
nontraditional students a variety
of degree program and new learning
modalities, launched a new website
to complement its Center for Leadership
Studies and Educational Research
(CLSER). The purpose of the center is
to help practitioner doctoral prepared
faculty and students obtain a bona fide
research agenda and support them in
the research process including scholarship
and camaraderie among more seasoned
and published colleagues. This
study conducted in 2015, examined the
content of the first CLSER academy research
center website to determine the
degree of customer experience (CX)
best practices built in as well as survey
those affiliated with it to determine
their degree of CX expectations met.
A brief survey of the CLSER
research center affiliates asked them
about their website interactions while
obtaining their personas, a requirement
for building purposeful CX design. The
results of the content analysis provid-
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