Client Name

The University

of Arizona

Services

Product Design

About UArizona

Founded in 1885, the University of Arizona (UArizona) is a renowned land-grant institution with top-ranked graduate programs, including the No. 1 Management Information Systems program. As a leading Research 1 university, UArizona invests $687 million annually in research. This commitment to research significantly influenced the project, ensuring the design process was deeply informed by student needs and academic priorities.

Founded in 1885, the University of Arizona (UArizona) is a renowned land-grant institution with top-ranked graduate programs, including the No. 1 Management Information Systems program. As a leading Research 1 university, UArizona invests $687 million annually in research. This commitment to research significantly influenced the project, ensuring the design process was deeply informed by student needs and academic priorities.

Project Challenge

UArizona sought to create a new degree search and transfer planning feature to help prospective students track majors, transfer credits, and connect with advisors. I joined the project to streamline the user experience, replacing an outdated system that created friction for students and advisors, making it challenging to engage early in the enrollment process.

Results

The redesigned degree search and transfer planning portal transformed the student experience by making it easier to explore degree options, manage transfer credits, and connect with advisors. The streamlined design reduced complexity and improved interactions, leading to higher engagement and a smoother enrollment process for prospective students and academic advisors.

OBSERVE

Students and advisors at the center of research

Understanding the current experience

Empathy Mapping

Students and advisors described their needs, behaviors, and emotions when they begin searching for a degree

Persona Creation

Empathy map learnings were used to created personas that were validated with students and advisors to ensure user alignment

Journey Mapping

Students and advisors mapped the degree search experience to identify points of gains and pains

Synthesized Learnings

All learnings were visually synthesized to clearly describe the journey with points of pains and gains

Defining The Ideal Experience – Finding a Degree

Enrolled students described their ideal experience when searching for a degree and then dot voted for the favorite ideas

Defining The Ideal Experience – Transferring Credits

Community college students described their ideal experience when trying to understand how their earned credits transfer to a degree at UArizona

Synthesizing The Ideal Experience of Finding a Degree

Identifying key patterns and insights

REFLECT

Finding balance between
the ideal experience and feasibility

Identifying key features and architecture

Through collaboration with client stakeholders and the development team, key features within budget were identified and mapped

Wireframing

A sample of the key screens

Landing Screen

Search Results

Degree Details

Course Mapping

Wireframing

A sample of the key screens

Landing Screen

Search Results

Degree Details

Course Mapping

Wireframing

A sample of the key screens

Landing Screen

Search Results

Degree Details

Course Mapping

CREATE

Rendering in Hi-Fidelity
with Color and Clarity

Before
After