NORTHEASTERN STUDENT HUB

As a UX Designer, I have enhanced the interactive features of the Student Hub to increase student engagement, successfully reaching over 20,000 students.

Northeastern
Student Hub

As a UX Designer, I have enhanced the interactive features of the Student Hub to increase student engagement, successfully reaching over 20,000 students.

Background

The Northeastern Student Hub serves as a central digital platform for over 20,000 students, offering essential resources, managing academic tasks, staying updated on news and events, and connecting with the university community.

However, despite its comprehensive offerings, many students primarily use the Hub for transactional purposes, such as paying bills or registering for courses, and do not fully engage with its broader features.

Role

UX/UI Designer

Figma, FigJam, Miro Board, Pen, Paper, Microsoft Forms, Teams

Tools

Product Manager, 1 Developer, 2 UX Designers, UX Manager

Team

The main challenge identified was the low engagement level with the Hub's more interactive features like connecting with people who posses similar interests.

Problem

Students were unaware of the Interest Survey form designed to help them connect with peers who share similar interests. Furthermore, the "Discover" page, intended to facilitate networking and community-building, was underutilized due to its confusing title and overwhelming information layout.

Student Research

70% of students had never visited the Interest Survey page. Some who visited, didn’t feel like to spend 10 minutes to fill an interest survey form.

To understand the root cause of these issues, student interviews and surveys were conducted.

80% of Students don’t fill this survey form. There is no clue about how this information is utilized or helping them to connect with other people

I filled the interest form now how can I filter based on my Interest tags and explore the results in the Discover Page, I don't see an option to filter out based on my interest

I filled the interest form now why things are not displayed here in the Discover page according to my interest

Huskies (Students) want to connect with peers who share their interests. We aim to make it easy for new and returning Northeastern students to find classmates with similar passions, no matter where they're from!

How might we increase student engagement with the Northeastern Student Hub's interactive features, particularly the Interest Survey and Discover page, by improving awareness, usability, and personalized content delivery?

Now, let's define the problem

My Interest Survey Form

Thinking about the solution

Based on all the insights we got from students, we brainstormed the possible solutions with other team members and stakeholders

Make the purpose of the survey clear and less time consuming. Add intuitive tags that students can select to quickly tailor the entire Student Hub with their interests.

Simplify the layout and make more User-friendly design. Redesign "My Profile" section

"Me" page current design

Discover Page

Redesign the Discover page to display suggestions based on students' interest tags they have selected.

Simplify the layout anf make more user friendly design. Redesign "My Profile" section.

We went to Students again!! We ran Usability Testing sessions with our two first Iterations with students across various majors and backgrounds helped us pinpoint the most prominent and diverse interests within Northeastern.

How can we effectively categorize interests for over 20,000 students spanning diverse majors and backgrounds?

Key Challenge

Iteration 1

Iteration 2

Final Tags Selection Designs

From the results of Usability Tests we came with these final Designs.

Tag Categories

Pick Interests in This Category

Network & Learning will leverage interest tags to tailor content, making recommendations more relevant to each students' interests

We also proposed renaming of "Discover" page to "Network & Learning" to better encapsulate the expanded offering beyond, people, clubs and organizations, and events

Student Hub Navigation Redesign

Previous Design

Proposed Design

Final Designs

Alongside introducing new interest tags, we aimed to streamline the profile section layout on Student Hub. Our goal was, that users could seamlessly and quickly locate what they were looking for without undue effort.

Before

After

#1

#2

Student selects interest category from the dropdown list to add to their profile. For each category, they select their interests from the pre-populated interest list. They can delete an interest or category by clicking the delete icon

Students can select their Top Interest Tags based on the database of interests selected and saved by the student to their profile, it will tailor their recommendations across the Hub. Suggestions will be displayed at the top of the page to find connection easily with their similar interest.

#3

Students can see suggestions on the "Network & Learning" page based on their interest tags they have selected. They can Filter out results based on interest tags and My Top Tags.

Add or Edit Interest tags to your profile

Select 6 Top Tags and Tailor your interest across the Hub

Filter Results by Your Selected Interest Tags and Top Tags

Design System

Insights & Learnings

In my first foray into working in the United States with a diverse team on the Northeastern Student Hub project, I encountered a wealth of invaluable personal learning experiences. Immersed in a team comprising individuals from various backgrounds and cultures, I gained profound insights into navigating the intricacies of cross-cultural collaboration.

My first experience working in the United States

Professionally, the Northeastern Student Hub project provided an illuminating journey into the intricacies of user-centric design and product development. Through user interviews and surveys, I gained valuable insights into student behavior and preferences, uncovering areas for improvement within the platform. Addressing the challenge of driving adoption for new features underscored the importance of proactive promotion and intuitive design to enhance user engagement.

What I learned from this project

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