UConn Student Portal
Creating a better digital experience for UConn students through a data-driven portal design
My first ever UX design project was focused on improving the user experience of UConn's student portal site, which is a very important and complex resource that students must learn to navigate in order to enroll in classes, see their grades, etc. I wanted to redesign this site to be more accessible and intuitive, particularly for new students.
This small design introduced me to the importance of research, accessibility, and balance in UX design.
Designing like a user: comprehensive research and understanding pain points
As a UConn student, it was easy for me to understand the pain points of the student portal experience. Most prominently, it took too many clicks to reach critical pages, such as course registration and search. You can see screen captures of the student portal's navigational infrastructure on the Behance page for this project.
In additional to my anecdotal experience, I conducted qualitative research into what other students would like to see in a portal update. Many students expressed interest in the idea of a dashboard, so they could easily access relevant information like GPA or class schedules.
Putting accessibility at the forefront of the design approach
In my final design, I created a portal home page that gave students an easily customizable dashboard. Here, they could bookmark their frequently visited pages, view their recently visited pages, and quickly understand their GPA and class schedules through widgets.
I also eliminated the tiled menu from the home page, replacing it with a sticky nav on the left of the screen. This would allow students to access any major menu element at any time, rather than backtracking through their previous steps.
These design choices, among others, helped streamline the user experience and reduce unnecessary click journeys. Students found this design to be much more efficient and useful for their portal needs.
