Enabling Graduate School Decision-Making Through User-Centered Redesign of Program Website

摘要

When faced with difficult budget restrictions, many university departments attempt to increase enrollment to offset costs. To appeal to high quality students who may be interested in a program, it is critical for a university department to provide information online in an easily accessible, aesthetically pleasing format that matches potential students’ goals and information needs. Our research team was tasked with helping [redacted] university’s Computer Graphics Technology (CGT) Master of Science (MS) program to improve their existing website. Through user-centered design and goal-directed design methodologies, we were able to evaluate the existing website for design flaws, gather user research to inform our conceptual redesign, and evaluate our redesign for usability and compatibility with users’ mental models. This paper outlines our process and concludes with design implications that other university departments can use to improve their own websites.