In this Polish research paper, the author noted that, “Scientific literature relatively rarely analyses the usability of academic institutions’ admissions services; most studies focus on academic websites in general. The rare exceptions include research on recruitment webpages and application forms, which indicate problems with navigation and communication (Huang & Bilal, 2019; Stark, 2017), as well as a comparative study of usability evaluation methods, emphasising the benefits of a combined approach (Liu & Jiang, 2025).”
One of my hobbies is tracking how my scholarship is used in other research and writing across the globe, and then reading the papers that draw on it. The quoted text above was included by Professor Arkadiusz Pulikowski in a paper examining the usability of software for recruiting students. Pulikowski cited my study, published under my maiden name, Stark, in which I examined the usability of community college online admissions applications.
The author draws on the sparse research on the topic, including my study, to make an important point about the limited research on the usability of academic admissions services. The overall aim of the study was to identify effective usability practices in the Internet Recruitment of Candidates (IRK) services used at Polish universities and, in turn, develop recommendations aimed at increasing user satisfaction.
The study identified best practices across the linguistic, visual, and structural layers of the admissions services being evaluated, primarily related to message clarity, navigation consistency, and the reduction of distracting elements. These qualities, combined, enhance transparency in the recruitment process and strengthen institutional identification.
As always, while usability in this study and in my own work was in the context of educational institutions, the recommendations often apply to a range of frontend and intake processes.
Dr. Treca Bourne 
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