Background
Regents University London proudly known for its personalised education and commitment to student satisfaction, launched a mobile app to centralise resources and improve the student experience as part of its goal to enhance its TEF (Teaching Excellence Framework) rating from silver to gold. However, low engagement and usability issues highlighted gaps in meeting student needs. Tasked with addressing these challenges as members of the design and communications team, we set out to redesign the app to create a more engaging and effective tool that supports student success.
Research and Inights
Initial observations suggested a misalignment between the app’s functions and student needs, a hypothesis later validated through research. We explored articles on the student experience, and digitisation, and conducted direct interviews to understand how the app fits into students’ lives, their motivations, challenges, and expectations.
Students described university life as complex and often disorganised, relying heavily on digital tools to manage planning, communication, and access to resources. However, the app failed to effectively address these needs, with students frequently citing difficulty navigating due to information overload and the lack of essential features. These insights directly informed our redesign, ensuring the app better aligned with its users' diverse needs.
Different student groups had distinct expectations: undergraduates prioritised social connection and community engagement, while postgraduates focused on tools for academic efficiency. Our challenge was to design an app that delivers value to all students while providing a positive, tailored experience.
To guide our process and measure success, we identified key goals: ensuring information is displayed clearly, relevantly, and on time; creating an intuitive, well-organised interface for ease of use; and introducing expanded features to support students in achieving their goals.
Exploration and Design
We used “How Might We” (HMW) questions to guide the ideation and exploration process, analysing how other applications approached the same objectives. Through brainstorming sessions and workshops, we employed a couple of tactics.
To keep students informed at a glance, we introduced a colour-coded calendar to help students quickly identify, filter, and prioritise activities based on subconscious associations. The calendar is dynamically updated with schedule changes, deadlines, and events, providing an up-to-date view of commitments.
To ensure students stayed informed, we implemented a persistent notification system for time-sensitive updates, prominently displaying critical information like class changes or rescheduled deadlines. A dedicated notifications screen categorised and stored updates for easy access, ensuring students never missed important details.
We provided a clear information hierarchy using progressive disclosure to provide access to essential information. Student feedback refined the structure and groupings, ensuring they remained intuitive and inclusive for the international student body.
To further support students, we introduced search recommendations with an integrated FAQ for common queries and customisable shortcuts for frequently used tools, making navigation more efficient and personalized, reducing staff workload and improving usability.
We introduced an academic hub to provide students with an overview of their academic progress. Visual elements like charts and progress bars give a clear snapshot of milestones, performance, and deadlines, while actionable links connect students directly to relevant resources and tasks.
To improve social engagement, we added a dedicated page for communities and events. Events are categorised by type, following colour associations from the calendar for intuitive navigation. Students can search for events and students can see who is participating to encourage involvement Personalised event recommendations based on courses and past activity further support engagement and help foster a sense of community on campus.
Impact
With this project still in development. Initial feedback from user testing showed substantial improvements in satisfaction and engagement, with students finding the app easier to navigate and more responsive to their needs. This alignment between user expectations, core needs, and provided features serves as a strong indicator of the project’s success.
Role : UX Designer
Year : 2024
Timeline : 3 months
Mobile Design, User Research, Prototyping