New Research Report Uncovers Website Experience Gaps in Higher Education

SearchStax and The Chronicle of Higher Education survey over 225 marketing and digital leaders to reveal how institutions are falling behind in delivering the website experiences today's students expect

LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- SearchStax, in partnership with The Chronicle of Higher Education, has released a new original research report titled Untapped Insights: The State of Site Search in Higher Education, offering a revealing look at the digital challenges facing colleges and universities today.

The report is based on a survey of more than 225 higher education marketing and website experience professionals across executive leadership, marketing, IT, admissions, student services and research. It uncovers a consistent gap between the importance institutions place on their websites and the actual experience they're delivering—especially when it comes to search functionality.

Key findings include:

• 93% of respondents believe that improving the website experience would positively impact student success metrics like enrollment, engagement and retention—yet only 19% say their current experience is great.
  
  
• Site search ranks alongside easy navigation and accessibility as one of the top 3 most important features of a higher ed website, but more than half say their current search frustrates users with outdated or irrelevant results.
  
  
• Institutions are making content updates weekly or ad hoc, yet 43% say it takes a week or more to tune their site search so that students can actually find the most up-to-date content.
  
  
• Despite a lack of current AI maturity, 72% of institutions plan to invest in more AI tools for their website experiences in the short term.

"As Gen Z students increasingly expect intuitive, search-first digital experiences, higher ed must catch up," says Sameer Maggon, Founder & CEO of SearchStax. "Search is no longer an afterthought, and the report findings strongly highlight that."

The report also includes insights from interviews with leaders at Texas Christian University (TCU), Grand Valley State University (GVSU), Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), and the City of Nashville. Their firsthand experiences underscore the urgent need for modern, AI-powered search strategies to keep pace with visitor expectations.

"Looking at search analytics helps us know where we might have content gaps, or where we might need some additional synonyms… to connect people to the most up-to-date, authoritative answer to their questions."
 — Corey Reed, Director of Website Management, TCU

Understanding where your institution's website experience is falling short is more critical than ever—especially as the enrollment cliff looms. This report not only highlights the gaps that may be holding your site back, but also shows how your peers are approaching everything from search improvements to AI adoption to meet rising student expectations.

Download the full report:
https://www.searchstax.com/white-papers/the-state-of-site-search-in-higher-education/

About SearchStax
SearchStax - the Search Experience Company - enables marketers and developers to deliver fast, relevant website search experiences. SearchStax powers search for more than 700 customers worldwide, including leading brands in higher education, healthcare, government, manufacturing, and financial services. Some clients include Roche, University of Arkansas, University of Chicago Medicine, KPMG, Banner Health, Canon, and Fidelity. Learn more at www.searchstax.com. 

SOURCE SearchStax