Unlocking insights that increase
minority student college attendance
Overview
Project overview
About our client
College Action Program (CAP) is a non-profit organization with the mission to support students achieve their higher education goals.
Project brief
Develop a mobile app for college-intending students that will motivated them to complete the enrollment process.
The problem
Approximately 40% of College-intending students fail to complete the college enrollment process because they lack information and access to help.
The solution
Design a motivational app with an intuitive dashboard, visual status of progress, and accessible resources to guide student transition.
Project details
Roles
UX/UI Designer
Research Lead
Project Manager
Timeline
Three-Week Design Sprint
Platforms
iOS
Deliverables
Mobile App Design
Design System
Animation Prototype
Research & Insights
Understanding our user pain points and their needs
Before jumping into any solutions, our team conducted research to identify:
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Reasons for loss of motivation.
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How students stay motivated.
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What aspects of the enrollment process are difficult.
The following research methods helped us understand our users better:
1. Surveys
We surveyed twenty-one students who had recently received help from CAP to complete the college enrollment process.
2. Interviews
We interviewed eight minority college students who within the last year had been through the enrollment process.
Key takeaways
Compiling the research from the viewpoint of students revealed various pain points to be addressed in our design:
1. Lack of information
Students felt the lack of information on how to
carry-out each step makes the process very difficult.
2. Difficulties accessing help
Students had difficulty getting in contact with knowledgeable people in academia who could provide help.
3. Unclear instructions
Students were often redirected to different websites,
with unclear instructions that sent them in circles.
4. Management struggles
Students struggled with management: administrating their time, managing tasks, meeting deadlines, and staying on course.
Stakeholder Interview
Organization goals
The Founder of CAP made a special request, that a progress bar be incorporated into the app. She explained that it was not only important for students to have an awareness of the college enrollment steps but also to take action to complete the steps. The progress bar would encourage them to take action as they saw the bar move.
The mentorship app will not only support students to seamlessly navigate the matriculation process, but also CAP mentors can monitor each student's progress, facilitating advice in a timely manner.
A simple habit; Pocket Schedule Planner ; School Assistant Planner ; Canvas; My Study Life
1. Notifications & Calendar
Task- management features
2. Dashboard
Used for comprehensive grouping
3. Progress Bar
Are incorporated within each task.
Persona
Understanding our user & their frustrations
Sidney
"I need to complete the enrollment process, but I don't know what steps I still have to do."
About
Sidney graduated from Booker T. Washington High School and was accepted into Morehouse College. He wants to enroll, but he does not know where to start. He sees his high school friends enrolling in their dream schools, and he wishes he had more of a direction to complete all the necessary steps to finalize enrollment. He feels overwhelmed and lost.
Demographics
Age: 18 years
Occupation: Student
Location: Atlanta, GA
Frustration
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Not knowing what documents are needed, deadlines, and how far along he is in the process.
Goals
Complete all of the necessary steps to enroll in College/ University before fall semester.
Needs
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Needs to submit documents needed to attend College/ University on time.
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Guidance on knowing what to submit and where.
Journey Map
Seeing our student's story
To obtain a better understanding of the student experience and be able to deliver a more personalized experience we mapped out the journey. We were able to identify trends based on details provided by students we surveyed and interviewed.
Click for a closer look.
Key takeaways
1. Challenges
The top three difficult tasks are challenging because students lack sufficient information to complete them.
3. Insights
Students need ample, well-organized information and access to a diverse range
of resources.
2. Emotions
Receiving words of encouragement during the process was associated with positive feelings.
4. Opportunities
Access to mentors can give students the opportunity to fill in information gaps regarding the enrollment process.
Problem & Solution
The primary challenge and the proposed solution hypothesis
The challenge
Students fail to complete the college enrollment process because they lack information, help, and accessible resources.
Motivating prospective college students
We believe that if we design a motivational app with an intuitive dashboard, visual status of progress, and accessible resources to guide student transition then we are likely to see an increase in students who make it to their first day of college.
The why
According to the Strategic Data Project at Harvard, between 10 and 40 % of prospective college students’ do not enroll in fall classes. And the statistic is even higher for students from low-income backgrounds. There is a need for a product that engages students enough to stay on course.
Information Architecture
Creating a comprehensive navigation system
Our goal while structuring information was for students to be aware of all the tasks in the enrollment process, and of all the resources available to them on the app. We organized all the tasks in one place, the Home screen. Resources were grouped together and made available for quick access by putting them on the main navigation.
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User Flows
Critical paths students will take
I created user flows to visualize two critical paths: 1) Navigating a task by providing ample information. 2) Navigating to obtain help. Depicting the process allowed us to evaluate and optimize the user experience to ensure continuous progress and prevent students from getting stuck.
1. Navigating a task by providing ample information.
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2. Accessing guidance and additional help.
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Final Prototype
A look into the final product
After more revisions, the high-fidelity prototype was created merging CAP's goals with our target users' needs.
Scenario 1
Sidney needs to register for financial aid. He looks for information on how to complete it.
Scenario 2
Sidney needs additional help, he wants to schedule a meeting with his mentor.
Key screens
Reflection
Reflecting on my journey
From the start, I felt passionate about designing this app. I am overjoyed to have created something that will benefit underrepresented students. I will have played a role in giving students the opportunity to reach their higher education goals and that is priceless. I learned some valuable skills along the way that I will apply to my future work.
Delegate - Initially, I wanted to be involved in every single aspect of the project. I quickly realized that the project was too complex for me to do everything myself and it was important to trust my teammates. We assigned work based on who was the most enthusiastic about working on a certain aspect. Each teammate put in effort, brought creativity, and contributed insightful opinions.