Driving enrollment while meeting diverse needs through course design

Problem

Though not widely recognized, higher education has become a hotbed of user experience research and iterative design. Faculty members and administrators all around the world are attempting to understand what their customers (students) want and how to design courses and other experiences that meet their needs and desires.

As a faculty member and head of an academic program, I acutely felt this pain-point. A key question was: how do you design courses that attract students, contribute to their learning, and positively impact college-wide aspirations?

The “answer”

 

The “answer” was user experience research and iterative design. Throughout the course design process I observed and I asked students what they wanted to learn; what was working; what wasn’t'; what was frustrating; what pleasurable? As answers to those questions became apparent, I made shifts in course content and delivery. And, of course, I kept asking questions.

My role

 

My role was to work with student-customers and stakeholders to ensure that courses were engaging while also ensuring that learning goals and enrollment aspirations were considered.

Methods used

 

  • literature review

  • usability testing

  • participatory design

  • surveying

  • focus groups

The gist of it

In order to frame the parameters of new courses to be designed, colleagues and I first met with stakeholders, including colleagues from other programs and senior leadership. After defining high-level parameters, my team worked to define programmatic learning goals to ensure that new courses would align with these.

Team members individually designed courses while meeting weekly or bi-weekly to share best practices and check for alignment with program goals. Usability testing took place as courses were being taught. Individual team members observed students while they engaged in readings and assignments and elicited feedback throughout the implementation period. Students were also brought into the design process through participatory assignments involving novel pedagogical techniques. Finally, students were surveyed at the end of each instructional period to gain a sense of their overall satisfaction level with various aspects of each course.

All methods of data collection and assessment continued during subsequent iterations of each course. Adjustments were made accordingly to ensure that effective learning was taking place while larger program and college goals were also being met.

Lessons learned

 

  • What students want to learn and what a program or college thinks they should learn are often not the same.

  • Iterative design and participatory research approaches are critical for developing courses that meet student expectations while maintaining product quality.

  • The customer is not always right. Challenging student assumptions about learning often leads them to new insights. It is important to stay attentive to student desires while also trusting in the expertise of faculty members.