Admissions Redesign for Arizona State University's Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College
In the competitive landscape of higher education, a university's admission pages serve as the path to attracting prospective students. The goal of this redesign was to create an experience that is intuitive, informative, and exciting, ultimately inspiring students to embark on their academic journey.
The Teachers College admission pages had been facing several challenges, including a lack of clarity in information presentation, outdated design elements, and a disconnect in conveying the college's unique value proposition. The task at hand was to reimagine these pages to better engage prospective students while providing them with the information they need to make informed decisions about their educational future.
The redesign process commenced with thorough research into the target audience—the prospective students. Understanding their needs, aspirations, and pain points was crucial in informing the design strategy. Additionally, collaborative workshops with college stakeholders were conducted to identify key messaging and value propositions that needed to be communicated effectively.
As an institution of higher education in the United States, ASU must comply with level AA of the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1, and it was my goal to meet and exceed these standards. In addition to accessibility, web projects must utilize the in-house Unity Design System and be built within the constraints of Webspark, ASU's Enterprise content management system. Understanding these parameters offered exciting pathways to create accessible, intuitive, and engaging solutions.
Central to the redesign was creating an intuitive and user-centric navigation structure. Information architecture was restructured to streamline the admission process, ensuring that students could easily identify where they were in the admissions process and access essential details such as program offerings, admission requirements, and financial aid options.
Visual design played a pivotal role in elevating the user experience. Vibrant use of the ASU color palette and dynamic imagery were employed to create a visually engaging interface that captures the attention of prospective students. Clear calls-to-action were strategically placed to guide users through the admission journey seamlessly.
I wanted to ensure consistency between first-year, transfer, and graduate student pages, so I used overlapping design elements so that all pages were cohesive.
Feedback from both prospective students and college stakeholders was overwhelmingly positive. Prospective students praised the clarity and accessibility of information, while college administrators noted an increase in engagement metrics and inquiries from interested applicants. Our site approval score dramatically increased on desktop and mobile.
