SCAD Accommodate.
Rearchitecting SCAD’s Counseling and Student Support Services portal for optimal usability, especially for users with disabilities.
This group project’s premise was to find a SCAD website that is in dire need of rearchitecting for efficiency and usability. My team and I chose to rearchitect ‘SCAD Accommodate,’ a SCAD portal used by students with varying disabilities. This project was conducted in my UXDG 360 class (Information Architecture) at SCAD.
Team
Myself, Firas, Averie
Role
Ideation, Research, Information Architecture, Wireframing, Presentation Design
Tools
Figma
Duration
10 weeks
What is SCAD Accommodate?
SCAD Accommodate is an online portal that supports the SCAD Counseling and Student Support Services Office where the students can request/renew accommodations, book appointments with staff, book testing rooms, renew accommodation letters, and so on.
Problem Statement
The SCAD Accommodate portal is unintuitive for SCAD students, faculty, and staff to use to achieve their goals.
How Might We Statement
How might we rearchitect the SCAD Accommodate website to improve usability, especially for people with disabilities?
Overall Goals
Rearchitect the portal, improve visual design, and implement Userway’s services within the portal.
Old Portal.
Stakeholders.
Navigators: SCAD Students are the main users for the site. All of the resources are geared towards them.
Facilitators: This includes counselors and advisors who have to facilitate the provision of services to students.
Coordinators: Symplicity, the professionals who set up SCAD Accommodate and manage the site.
Personas.
Samira, 21 years old
SCAD Student, 3rd year Architecture major
“I feel pressured by the demand in my classes and internship applications, so I am seeking services that will help me manage my stress and aid in my academic journey.”
Rebecca, 37 years old
Accommodation Support Specialist at SCAD
“With the sheer volume of students needing varying kinds of support, I would strongly benefit from a system that would help me stay organized.”
Alex, 19 years old
SCAD Student, 2nd year Illustration major
“I am diagnosed with ADHD and a few mental illnesses. I would like to work with SCAD to augment my learning experience and aid in my academic success.”
Research.
Accessibility Research
My team and I researched the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) and how it can be implemented into site design and development.
Userway
It is an AI powered accessibility widget that makes web experiences customizable. Our pitch was to implement Userway as a feature in the newly designed website.
Information Architecture
My team and I mapped the current site to observe overlaps, dead-ends, and unintuitive site navigation.
Old Site Map.
There are unnavigable, empty, duplicated, or unused pages with vague and repetitive nomenclature.
User Testing.
Surveys
Users took an anonymous survey on their experience using the current portal.
User Interviews
1-on-1 interviews with users.
Card Sorting
My team and I observed how users categorize labeled cards into groups.
Key Insights.
Navigation
Accessing Information
Communication
“I could never tell what page I’m on. There were menus within menus and I could never figure out how to get things done or access important documents, nor did I try to. It seemed like such a hassle.”
-Anonymous SCAD student
Robust Storage
Compatible with 3rd party plugins
Evolving Interface
“We have how-to videos and all documents and resources right there in the portal, but students still find it difficult finding them and always ask us for assistance.”
-Caitlin Rabold, Director of Disability Resources at SCAD
New Site Map.
Pages have been renamed to create specificity. Empty pages have been deleted and new pages have been added to create further organization and categorization.
Newly Proposed Portal.
Conclusion.
This project marked a significant milestone in my growth as a designer. As one of my first user experience design projects at SCAD, it pushed me outside my comfort zone, especially being new to the field and surrounded by experienced peers. Despite the initial challenge, I embraced the opportunity and found genuine enjoyment in both the process and the final result.