Academic Success is a department at the University of Toronto (UofT) that provides services and programs to improve academic outcomes among undergraduate and graduate students. For my capstone course, my team and I partnered with their department to address their main concern of who is and who is not coming to Academic Success, and in what ways could they support them.
My Role
Research (planning, interviews, analysis, presentation) and content design
Outcome
Final deliverable included multiple different solution artifacts (report, prototype, infographic, and website heuristic evaluation)
Project
Capstone course
Methods
User Interviews, usability testing, and diary study
Team
5 UX researchers and designers
Results
Key Findings
01.
Students were motivated to seek Academic Success services because they were struggling with their workload or experiencing struggles with mental health.
02.
Reported awareness channels were the Academic Success website, CLNX, email, flyers, and academic registrars.
03.
5 out of 8 students who have sought and utilized Academic Success services reported that the services and programs were beneficial.
04.
Participants reported difficulty accessing the Academic Success website due to the amount of options, making it difficult to explore services if they didn’t know what they were looking for.
05.
Participants were unaware of the amount of resources provided by Academic Success, including the purpose of learning strategists.
06.
Participants wanted a better way to explore programs and service that resulted in a personalized experience.
Our team met with staff from Academic Success and their main concerns were, are we communicating our work in ways that resonate with students?
We noted their wants, and set out to do some generative research because we were unfamiliar with their programs and services.
Assessing students’ level of awareness of programs and services
Understanding their current journey in finding and booking services
Understanding their motivations, needs, and goals with regard to seeking services
Understanding barriers students face in the process of finding and using services
Not currently able to change UI
Changes must be approved Department of Student Life
We planned to begin our generative research with student interviews. However, we held two focus group sessions via Zoom with staff either within Academic Success or who recommend students to their department. Without having managerial staff present, our aim was to get general insight on their frustrations reaching students and understand how staff work together to provide their services.
We completed 10 semi-structured interviews (4 moderated by me) with graduate and undergraduate students via Zoom. Our research study was conducted remotely due to the pandemic. We recruited older adults ages 60+ with a sufficient command of English to participate in interviews.
Example question with potential follow-up questions for experienced users:
From the moment you decided you wanted to sign up for this program/service, to until you attended, could you please walk us through this process?
How did you feel when you were looking for the program/service, when signing up for it, when attending it, etc.
Did you experience any challenges or frustrations during this process? If so, what and why?
How did you feel at [this step]?
Could you maybe elaborate on [this aspect] more?
Did you face any barriers to seeking out these programs/services? If so, what?
With our users motivations, delights, and pain points identified, our team came together to create our persona and craft the user journey to present to help our stakeholders emphasize with students like our persona, Selena.
Frustrations
Overwhelmed with the amount of programs and services offered on campus.
Struggles to narrow down which programs and services are most relevant to their needs.
Frustrated that the support is not relevant to original academic concern.
Goals
Find academic support on campus relevant to their student needs.
Ensure she is well equipped to succeed academically.
Successfully apply learned strategies within academic settings.
Bio
.
.
Selena is an undergraduate student studying at the University of Toronto. She is currently struggling academically and wants to be proactive to ensure she succeeds in her studies. While she has heard of various academic support on campus, she finds it difficult to find relevant programs or services that cater to her needs. Selena wants to be better informed about Academic Success and which programs and services are right for her.
Selena Davis, Student
20 years old
University of Toronto
.
Undergraduate Student
.
Second Year of Study
.
Full-Time Course Load
UTSG Academic Success Persona
CLNx
Student Registrar
Utor E-mail
Social Media
Preferred
Channels
Grades
Learning
Networking
Motivations
Selena is experiencing academic stress. She becomes aware of resources available at the University of Toronto, and she investigates services that meet her needs. After attending a session with Academic Success, she reflects on her experience, which becomes a pivotal moment for her to decide whether to discontinue or carry on. She feels frustrated that the service wasn't what she expected.
Based on Selena’s journey, we focused on 2 of the main pain points and generated needs statements to help identify how we could improve Sophie’s experience.
Our team set out to design a solution where students, like Selena, would be able to:
Independently differentiate Academic Success offerings that are right for them with 3 questions.
Identify their needs without visiting the website.
Know what to expect from Academic Success programs services before they attend an event.
Based on our research findings, we believed an omnichannel approach will be more effective in increasing outreach with students rather than one single solution. Our final deliverables that addressed the problems we have identified from our research included: .
1
A prototype (wayfinding tool) of a self-assessment form.
2
Infographic version of the self-assessment/website form that can be used for posters to help visually guide students to appropriate resources.
Our wayfinding tool was created as a standalone tool to be freely placed wherever UTSG Academic Success sees fit. This is an example of what the wayfinding experience would look like if placed on the landing page for UTSG Academic Success.
1
Introduction to the wayfinding tool and the first question regarding the student’s level of study. Students can select a level of study to reveal the second question.
2
In the second question, students can select their desired type of support. Each type of support features a description to give students an explanation or overview of the program or service.
3
Students are given resources for the type of support selected. They are shown at the bottom with a description and a link to more information on the Academic Success website.
4
An additional selection related to workshop topics to further narrow down students’ needs.
5
Results reflect current workshops and programs offered
that semester, making it easier for students to choose up to date programs and services that fit their needs.
I moderated usability sessions with 5 current UofT students at the UTSG campus (3 undergraduates, 2 graduates) with varying levels of experience with Academic Success. Key positive findings revealed that participants found it easier to use the wayfinding tool to find Academic Success programs and services than simply navigating the website.
Test the non-digital experience. We guerrilla tested the content for our wayfinding tool and infographic, but I’d also do a formative evaluation of the infographic in the environment it would be housed.
Have patience with stakeholders who are hesitant to accept the UX process. Some of our stakeholders were excited about everything UX, but others felt we were just there to tell them bad things. I’d continue to keep stakeholders apart of UX research and highlight positive insights as well.