Award Explorer
A one-stop shop for scholarship applications for undergraduate students.
Client
University of Toronto Innovation Hub
Role
UX Research, Visual Design, Prototyping,
Product Design, Usability Testing
Tools
Figma, Mural, Premiere Pro, Illustrator
Timeline
3 months (Oct-Dec 2020)
Research Team
Janice Cheung (me), Jenny Xue,
Hai-Dao Le Nguyen, Michael Do, Bonnie Shao
Project Deliverables
UX Research Report, Mifi Prototype (group), HIfi Prototype (individual)
The Problem
The existing scholarship application process is confusing, disorganized and overwhelming for students looking to apply. Over $10 million of scholarships go unclaimed in Canada every year.
Project Goals
To design an experience for undergraduate students that is empowering, accessible and simple, so that regardless of the outcome, students apply for scholarships every year of their studies
The Solution
A one-stop shop for scholarship applications for undergraduate students. Students no longer need to juggle multiple deadlines, search for scholarships they are eligible for and manage their scholarship applications.
By using Award Explorer, students only need to submit one application and apply to all of their eligible scholarships at the University of Toronto (UofT).
Existing Award Explorer
We met with the Award Explorer team at the beginning of our research, as well as throughout the project to learn more about the existing experience and identified the following administrator pain points:
Difficulty optimizing search queries
Decentralized system for uploading scholarship info
Lack of marketing and student awareness
The current system was identified as the 1st phase of the Award Explorer project, which aimed to centralize the scholarship search at UofT. Our team was tasked with designing the next phase of the project with the objective of centralizing the scholarship application process.
Key Research Themes
We surveyed 60 current undergraduate students and recent graduates from universities in Ontario, and conducted 6 semi-structured interviews. All primary research was conducted remotely. Based on the survey and interview findings, we identified the following student pain points in the scholarship application process:
Difficult and Frustrating Process
Current available resources to search and apply for scholarships are often outdated and hard to find, leading to great frustration with the scholarship process.Scholarships Feel Unattainable
Some students felt that scholarships were so unattainable that they didn’t apply at all. Students felt like the burden was on them to apply without support systems in place for them to do so.The “Missing Middle”
Students feel like there is a polarization between the scholarships available where students either have to demonstrate extreme financial need or are top of the class.Lack of Information
Many students are not aware that scholarships are available throughout their entire undergraduate study. Furthermore, finding resources on these scholarships is difficult and discouraging.Lack of Time and Motivation
Time investment into scholarships did not feel worthwhile given the amount of work required to filter, search and apply to each scholarship individually.
User Persona
Informed by our research findings, we created a persona to embody the different types of undergraduate students that would use Award Explorer. Needs statements that emerged from our research:
Steph needs a way to:
access similar opportunities as her peers and compete on the same playing field
be informed about upcoming scholarships, so she doesn’t miss out on opportunities
find relevant scholarships, so she doesn’t have to spend hours browsing
easily access application information so she can quickly and easily apply
User Journey
With the user persona in mind, our team created the existing and future user journey, focusing on the process rather than the ultimate solution.
The future user journey replaces the ‘Search’ and ‘Identify’ steps and with ‘Match’ - eliminating the main pain point of the existing user journey of spending hours looking for scholarships.
Ideation
Based on the needs statements of our persona, our team brainstormed ideas that would address those needs and prioritized them based on impact and feasibility.
The ideation phase was bold, virtual and creative; we came up with ideas like abolishing tuition which would have high impact but very low feasibility given our scope. Ultimately, with Steph’s need statements in mind, the main ideas that emerged from the ideation phase were:
One Application for All Scholarships
Auto-Matching
Personalized Filter for Every Individual
Information Architecture
The new user flow simplifies the existing scholarship application process by introducing a linear process. The underlying conceptual model demonstrates good behavioural design; the process only needs to be understood once, after which it is obvious and memorable for students.
Key Performance Indicators (KPIs)
Steph, the UofT undergrad can be matched with a list of eligible scholarships in less than 10 minutes.
By using 1 application, Steph the university undergrad can apply to all eligible scholarships available at UofT
Steph, a first-generation student, can follow a consistent and clear process to apply for dozens of scholarships every year of her undergrad.
Iterations
Given the remote nature of the project, our team developed lofi sketches and combined ideas into a mifi prototype using Figma. The images below illustrate the changes made to key screens based on user testing.
Our team also had the opportunity to present our mifi prototype to the Award Explorer team and received positive feedback on our project’s ability to highlight student pain points and needs.
User Testing
We conducted virtual usability tests on our mifi prototypes with 6 current undergraduate students. The testing sessions allowed us to identify critical issues and also receive valuable feedback to inform our design. The main findings from the usability testing were:
Refine onboarding for first-time users
Revise labelling of single vs. additional applications
Introduce interactive dashboard
Improve notification system
Visual Design
The colour palette utilizes UofT’s existing brand to maintain consistency with other student-facing web-based platforms.
The high-fidelity visual design is intentionally minimal and clean, so that students can focus on what’s important.
The Solution
After 3 months of virtual collaboration, the final solution is a collective effort that enables students at the University of Toronto to manage, match, and apply all of their scholarship applications in one place. (The following high-fidelity screens were completed individually.)
Project Goal
Drawing back to the original project goal, Award Explorer provides an experience for undergraduate students that is empowering, accessible and simple, so that regardless of the outcome, students apply for scholarships every year of their studies.
Streamline onboarding process
The onboarding process guides first-time users through the new scholarship process with Award Explorer. On the dashboard, students can view all tasks, upcoming deadlines and process overview at a glance.
Auto-match with scholarships in less than 10 mins
Filling out the questionnaire allows students to get matched with eligible scholarships in less than 10 minutes. Tooltips, drop-down questions, and confirmation screens guide users through the process.
Manage all scholarships in one place
Students can view and keep track of all of their matched eligible scholarships in one place. Students no longer need to check multiple individual websites for each scholarship, allowing them to focus on what’s important.
One application to apply for all scholarships
Complete one application to apply for all scholarships. Students have the option to complete optional additional questions for scholarships that have specific criteria in addition to their One Application.
Know the status of every application
Students are notified via email about updates to their scholarship applications, so that they don’t need to check Award Explorer everyday.
Regardless of the outcome, students are able to view the status of each scholarship won, under review and denied.
Next Steps
Reflecting on the project goals and scope, the proposed design provides an experience that is empowering, accessible and simple, so that regardless of the outcome, students apply for scholarships every year of their studies. The process is streamlined and eliminates the various pain points identified in the primary research.
Although the proposed solution effectively addresses this specific project goal, next steps beyond the project scope include:
Explore Administrator User Flows
Administrators are another key user group that would interact with Award Explorer. Future iterations would examine the experience of administrators to address issues such as information upload, consolidation of resources and administrative process, etc.
Integrate Feedback with Existing Award Explorer
The existing UofT’s Award Explorer system was launched in 2020 and developed as part of a multi-stage RFP process. Given the complexity of the scholarship and RFP process, the proposed solutions will require alignment with the primary consultant for the project.
Project Reflections
Award Explorer was a truly collaborative project where my team and I were able to work together virtually and conduct detailed primary research before jumping into any solution. The process allowed us to be intentional about every design decision being informed by research and user testing.
Storytelling is Critical
Storytelling is a critical part of communicating a design process. Storytelling enables us to relate to the people we are talking to and aligns everyone to what the future experience of the user will be like over time
Design is an Iterative Process
Integrating user research and usability testing throughout the entire design process allowed us to identify things that were not working early on, and pivot quickly
Consider All Stakeholders
Although our project focused on students as the primary user group, it is also equally important to consider the feasibility, viability and desirability of the product for other user groups such as scholarship administrators and funders.