Reimagine University College
How might we redesign Washington University in St. Louis’ University College program to better fit the needs and aspirations of working adults?
LOCATION: St. Louis, MO
SKILLS: Research, Interviewing, Synthesis, Prototyping, Testing
TIMEFRAME: August 2019 - July 2020 (8 months)
TEAM: Public Design Bureau and WashU student team
ROLES: Researcher, Facilitator, Interviewer
AUDIENCE: WashU Chancellor Andrew Martin, staff and faculty of WashU’s University College
CONTEXT:
University College, WashU’s extended learning program which currently offers evening and part-time programs, began the process of separating from the School of Arts and Sciences to function as an independent school in Fall 2020. I was selected as a member of the student team joining Public Design Bureau, led by Liz Kramer and Annemarie Spitz, to investigate how the new school might better serve working adults and increase economic mobility and equity in the region.
DELIVERABLES:
The team produced a final report outlining all our insights for WashU’s Chancellor and the incoming Dean of University College. Pilots and prototypes generated through this research will manifest in new University College programming, with implementation beginning Fall 2020.
DISCOVERY AND PLANNING:
To begin the project, we conducted secondary research to gain a better understanding of the problem space, existing benchmarks, and important stakeholders. This allowed us to narrow the scope of the project to three major industries (health, data, and change) and identify an audience to focus on (those looking to advance or switch in their careers).
Initial Research, Stakeholder Research and Analysis
Conducted literature review and background research.
Researched stakeholders and assisted with prioritization for interviews.
Created frameworks for analyzing local benchmarks.
Synthesized stakeholder interviews conducted by UCollege staff.
Participant Recruitment
Conducted phone screenings with potential participants.
Scheduled interviews with 21 participants.
AUDIENCE RESEARCH:
In this phase, we spoke with a diverse set of working adults in the St. Louis area to gain insights on their experiences. These data points were then synthesized into themes that helped inform the concepts created in later phases.
Audience Research
Assisted with creation of interview guide.
Documented and led 90-minute, one-on-one interviews with St. Louis residents either looking to advance or switch in their current career path.
Transcribed and prepared interviews for synthesis.
Synthesis
Participated in synthesis work sessions, identifying themes and patterns from audience sessions.
Assisted with creation of presentations to summarize findings and illustrate the details of each interview participant’s background.
IDEATION:
Using the insights from our audience research to establish context, we facilitated brainstorming sessions to solicit concepts from stakeholders. These were then organized and used to establish a base for later prototyping.
Ideation Sessions
Facilitated and assisted in 6 ideation sessions with faculty, staff, and current/potential students.
Engaged in prioritization sessions with faculty, staff, and current/potential students.
PROTOTYPING:
In this final stage, we created increasingly detailed prototypes of possible programs. We tested them with stakeholders to receive feedback that has informed our final recommendations.
Storyboards
Created visuals for three rounds of narrative storyboards used in testing sessions.
Conducted user testing.
Touchpoints
Created higher-fidelity touchpoints.
Iterated touchpoints to ensure clarity and comprehension for the final round of user testing
Conducted user testing.
FINAL REPORT:
After user testing, we compiled research from all stages of the project in a final report to be presented to the incoming Dean of University College and the Chancellor of WashU.
Final Concept Reports
Synthesized feedback from all user sessions.
Assisted in writing and compiling final recommendations for WashU and University College leadership.
Researched benchmarks to assist with future implementation of final recommendations.