University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a leading research university offering undergraduate, graduate, and professional development courses on-campus and online. Our digital agency teamed up with them to help launch an exciting new online Master's of Science in Analytics (MSCA) program by providing messaging architecture and UX recommendations.
Tools Used: Figma, Whimsical, Condens, Notion
Duration: 8 weeks, August - October 2021
Team: Lead UX Designer (me), Content Strategist, Brand Strategist, PM
Challenge
UChicago has an in-person Master's of Science in Analytics (MSCA) program and wanted to expand their portfolio by adding an online format of this program. They needed a way to differentiate the online program and showcase its value without disparaging the current in-person program.
Solution
We proposed research-informed messaging and UX recommendations for incorporating the online program within the framework of expanding options to help a wide range of student audiences learn data science at a prestigious university no matter their location or track.
The Process: Research
Our first step was to conduct stakeholder and user interviews with faculty, staff, students and alumni from the current MSCA program. We also performed a competitive analysis and buzzword research to learn more about competing online Master's programs.
Our research allowed us to gain valuable insights about current pain points and key features that would help this program stand out from its competitors.
Key Takeaways:
Buzzwords in marketing can come across as inaccessible and unhelpful to potential students, but are appreciated within course descriptions.
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“I think there's a lot of buzz words [used in this ad]... But it doesn't tell me anything about the school.” - MSCA Student
Data-minded students are looking for both qualitative and quantitative proof points about the value of their investment in the program.
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“What's different about this and [a less expensive program]? If I'm going to spend twice as much... what am I actually paying for?” - MSCA Student
Part-time and full-time students have different backgrounds, needs, and goals, but are currently treated similar.
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“We kind of lump them all together... but I think we're doing a disservice to both groups to treat them the exact same way." - MSCA Staff
Key Solutions
Taking into account our research insights, we shared an extensive list of recommendations for making UX and competitive improvements to the current Master's of Science in Analytics page while incorporating the new online format.
For example...
Problem: How might we differentiate the online program and showcase its value without disparaging the current in-person program?
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Solution: Incorporate the online MSCA into the current MSCA program pages, telling a story of expanding student options rather than launching a competing program. In addition, a new page can be created to provide additional information about the online program.
Problem: How might we help students learn about the differences between MSCA tracks (full-time vs part-time) and formats (on-campus vs online)?
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Solution: Add a clear visual explanation showing each program offering with pertinent information. This table was added to the MSCA program landing page so students could get a quick at-a-glance understanding of their options.
Problem: How might we help students understand what outcomes to expect after graduating?
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Solution #1: Add compelling data points to the landing page highlighting important career outcomes and program information. Since the online program hadn't launched yet, this data can be pulled from the on-campus program and updated as more outcome insights are available.
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Solution #2: Showcase testimonials from alumni at prestigious companies rather than current students in order to demonstrate career outcomes.
Hand-off: Final Designs
All MSCA program pages were updated to incorporate the online program, as well as to meet UX best practices (e.g. accessibility, consistency, etc).
We redesigned the MSCA program page to stand out to potential students and provide a friendly, helpful experience by including easily-discovered information mentioned by our student interviewees.
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Important additions included:
• Program options (FT/PT and in-person/online)
• Career outcome data
• Alumni testimonials (versus current students)
• Lists of sample courses
• Stories and news spotlighting faculty and students
• Clear explanation of program costs
Original
Redesign
Reflections: What did I learn?
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Using team collaboration tools with our client to share recommendations. We used shared Figma files and Google docs to share our UX recommendations, messaging architecture, and the heuristic evaluation. This allowed stakeholders to leave comments for us as well as their own team, which led to a seamless hand-off at the conclusion of this project allowing our client to keep the ball rolling to make updates to their website.
What I think went well:
What I would do differently:​
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Realign on project scope with new team members at kickoff. This project was initially scoped by someone who left the client's team right before our project kicked off. We did not fully understand how this impacted stakeholder team dynamics. In retrospect, it would have been helpful to fully reevaluate and realign on the vision and project goals with our new stakeholders during kickoff, instead of having these discussions later in the project when we realized there was internal disagreement among stakeholders.