UTP
Increasing satisfaction among university students enroled in asynchronous online courses
In collaboration with:
UTP, IDEO & LA VICTORIA LAB
roleS:
DESIGN LEAD, service Designer, USer Researcher
DURATION:
4 MO
YEAR:
2022
Overview
UTP, a major private university serving over 70,000 students, was looking to increase student satisfaction with their self-paced online courses. To tackle this challenge, I co-led an eight-person team combining designers from La Victoria Lab, IDEO and UTP itself.
We conducted research with students and teachers to uncover opportunities for improving the existing offering. This deep dive informed our vision for an enhanced online learning experience. Finally, we built prototypes and ran multiple experiments across a term to measure the effectiveness of our designs.
Results:
We conducted research with students and teachers to uncover opportunities for improving the existing offering. This deep dive informed our vision for an enhanced online learning experience. Finally, we built prototypes and ran multiple experiments across a term to measure the effectiveness of our designs.
Results:
- 34% increase in student satisfaction with the newly designed experience. In the control groups, 17% rated it 10/10, while in the experimental groups, 51% gave it the highest rating.
- Senior stakeholder alignment on the vision for the online programme, unlocking investment.
- Improvement in student engagement with the new learning content.
Students’ involvement and their comments have improved. The quality of their answers is different when compared to previous terms - Teacher participating in the experiment
Solution: a new asynchronous course experience
After synthesizing the user research, we defined opportunity areas across the student journey. We used these as the foundation to design an ideal online learning experience.
Pre-enrolment sneak peek
Through user research, we found students lacked clarity on what to expect when enrolling in a course. This touchpoint enables them to see mutual friends already enrolled or who have taken the course. Additionally, they can view the workload alongside their other courses and access basic course information, such as who the lecturer is and type of content they'll be engaging with.
Student profiles
Once enroled on a course, students can view information about their peers' major, interests, availability, and affinity. This was inspired on workaround students currently use to find project groups:
To form groups, I usually ask on the class WhatsApp group who is studying the same major as me. It would be useful to have that information at hand - UTP student
Project group hub
The platform allows students to access their project groups. Each group has their own space, where students can review agreed-upon norms and processes for collaboration. They can view each other's schedules and earn points by completing tasks like submitting assignments on time.
Learning cycle
Together with our learning experience designer, pedagogical advisors and UTP's academic team, we adapted a framework for designing effective and engaging learning experiences. At a very high-level, the learning cycle consists of students experiencing something new, exploring it, receiving feedback, and processing what they have learned through reflection.
Progress tracker
Our research revealed that due to varying circumstances, students sometimes fall behind in courses with little awareness of how it impacts their overall term progress. We leveraged the behavioral nudge of social proof by designing a way to allow students to compare their progress against their class. It also provides mechanisms for them to reach out to peers for assistance if needed.
Dynamic forums
Redesigned forums now facilitate efficient way-finding, enabling students to locate answers to their inquiries, thus avoiding them from posting questions that may have already been addressed. Additionally, these forums empower teachers to provide responses through alternative media formats, including screen recordings and voice messages.
Virtual coffee chats
The impersonal nature of asynchronous courses can drive disengagement. To address this, we introduced virtual coffee sessions – video call discussions on course topics that allow students to interact with peers and/or instructors, fostering a more personal and interactive learning environment.
Credits
PRODUCT MANAGEMENT
maria paula loayza
kevin armstrong
kevin armstrong
product design
KEVIN ARMSTRONG
MALU ROMERO
SANTIAGO SOTOCA
MALU ROMERO
SANTIAGO SOTOCA
tech lead
christian bedón
operations
JACQUELINE SOLARI
ESTEFANíA RODRIGUEZ
ESTEFANíA RODRIGUEZ
sponsors
jorge o'hara
hernán carranza
hernán carranza
business lead
alessandra ponce