Charles Sturt Study (Future Students) site
Igniting Futures: Transforming the Future Student Experience.
Summary
Brief and strategy
Unleashing potential: Revamping the site for future students
The brief was to redesign the site to attract more students to the university. As a greenfield project with no legacy constraints, we had the freedom to propose fresh ideas for the site rehaul.
This 12 month project followed the waterfall methodology, with each phase completed sequentially. My UX approach was guided by the Double Diamond framework, first discovering and defining key issues, then developing and delivering a comprehensive solution which meets both user and business needs.
Discovering insights
Understanding user pain points
We consulted the Student Support Centre, and conducted surveys and interviews with prospective students.
Insights uncovered
The university wants to cultivate a “Glocal” reputation
Charles Sturt is a regional university with strong community roots and a global outlook. While well known locally, it remains undiscovered by metropolitan and international audiences. This lack of recognition limits the university from attracting more students.
Charles Sturt’s online education expertise is an untapped goldmine
Charles Sturt is a leader within the online education sector, offering over 230 online courses complemented by a dedicated support team. The university also hosts an active community of 26000 online students, which represents more than half of its total population.
Despite these impressive credentials, the site fails to showcase this unique selling point.
Users want to access course information efficiently.
Users find the current Search tool frustrating, as they must go through multiple links to access course information.
Users want digestible course information.
Overly detailed and irrelevant information creates friction. Users want concise, tailored content that helps them quickly understand whether a course is right for them.
With these insights in mind, we framed key design questions to guide the project:
• How might we personalise the site to cater for different users?
• How might we streamline the process of accessing course information?
• How might we make course information more digestible for users?
How might we personalise the site to cater for different users?
Before
The original site had separate sections for Domestic and International students. But the sections were only accessible through a small and unclear toggle, which made navigation confusing.
There was no dedicated landing page for Online students, even though they make up over half of the student population. Key content like university rankings and student support was also missing or difficult to find.
Previous megamenu
After
We restructured the site to cater to three main user types: Domestic, International and Online students. In the new megamenu, “Study” and “International” are now top-level items, with “Online” placed under “Study” for easy discovery.
Each landing page features tailored content for its audience:
Domestic: Tailored information for school leavers, undergraduates, postgraduates, and online learners, plus fees and entry pathways.
International: Highlights Charles Sturt’s global appeal, campus life and ambassador stories.
Online: Reassures users with study support, scholarships and flexible learning opportunities.
New megamenu
Early sketches and final mock ups of landing pages
How might we make it easy for Users to access course information?
Meet Blake
Blake enjoys helping others and has set their heart on studying Nursing. Although they are decisive about their course choice, it takes them 8 steps to find the right course. They end up bouncing between career areas and course lists due to the inefficient search function and confusing career areas.
Blake's journey map: Searching for a nursing course
Our solution: Fewer clicks, smarter structure
We redesigned the course exploration experience with Blake’s pain points in mind.
Simplified structure
Users were confused with the many career areas that branch off into similar areas of interests, therefore we streamlined it to broad “Career areas” which branch off into specific “Areas of interests”.
We successfully reduced the number of career areas from 23 to 12, with each career area holding a maximum of 8 areas of interest. This new structure is based on users’ mental model and helps them to quickly look for courses that they are interested in.
Smarter search
We proposed a prominent search bar with auto suggestions and filters to help users quickly narrow down courses based on keywords, location, study mode and more.
When users type in keywords into the search bar, the site suggests relevant courses and provides a “View all courses” link. Clicking on a course takes users directly to a Course Information Page. Whereas, selecting “View all courses” directs them to the Search all courses page with a list of courses that match their search.
Seamless browsing
The Search all courses page acts like a course finder tool, where users can refine their search based on student type, course type, study mode, location, and start time. They can also select multiple areas of interest to filter their search.
Course result cards display the required ATAR, duration and upcoming sessions. From this page, users can click on a card to visit a Course Information Page or compare courses using the Compare feature.
This page provides a comprehensive browsing experience with filters, career areas and course lists all on one page.
Revamped experience: Searching for a nursing course
How might we make course information more digestible for Users?
For prospective students, the Course Information Page is an important page that helps them decide whether to study at Charles Sturt. But, the previous design made this step more frustrating than helpful.
The problem: A confusing and overwhelming experience
We identified three key issues:
• Mixed messages for different student types.
Domestic and international course information were jumbled together under vague labels, which made it hard for users to find relevant information.
• Confusing and incomplete key information.
This section was a mystery, as the campuses and study modes available for each session was unclear. Most importantly it did not display course fees, which is what users prioritise when choosing a course.
• Course structure was hard to understand.
Subject details were not displayed on the page, instead Users had to look through a separate handbook to access it.
Furthermore, workplace learning and intensive school information were also missing. This lack of information discouraged users from applying as they can’t plan to accommodate these requirements.
The solution: A clear and concise layout
We redesigned the Course Information Page to help users efficiently find information that matters to them.
• A toggle for student type and course year
The toggle lets users switch between domestic and international views and their intended start year, which ensures the page always displays relevant information.
• A clear and concise Key information section
Study mode, campus locations and session availability are grouped into a new Study Mode and Sessions section, which displays the study mode and campus locations offered by each session.
New sections like Indicative Fees and Additional Information also bring clarity to information that users care about.
• An informative subject table
We introduced a visual subject table that shows which subjects involve standard study, workplace learning or intensive school. This table clearly outlines subject requirements, making it easier for users to plan ahead.
Subject table under "What you will study'' section
Presenting the final Course Information Page..
Prototype
Design impact
We saw the following results after launching the new site.
What are the next steps?
Integrate Microcredentials courses into the Study site
Due to time constraints, Microcredential course pages were replicated as they are without changes on the new site. It’s outdated design and exclusion from the course search function means that it’s not integrated with the rest of the site.
An important next step is to update the Microcredential pages and integrate them into the site-wide course search.
What did I learn from this project?
Speak the stakeholder’s language
I often start design work with pen-and-paper sketches before moving into Figma once the direction is more defined.
In this project, I presented low-fidelity sketches during early stakeholder meetings. Some stakeholders struggled to understand sketches, whereas others had no issues interpreting the sketches.
I came to understand that rough design visuals aren’t always the best way to communicate ideas. Since then, I have adjusted how I present my work depending on the audience. In some cases, a simple wireframe in Figma communicates ideas more effectively than a hand-drawn sketch.
