University College @ Kent State University
(Web Design, Email Design, Copywriting, Analytics, Video Production)
The problem: How to stand out in a world-class university?
University College is a mysteriously-named group of hardworking staff at Kent State University. Comprising ten departments and dozens of programs, University College does valuable and innovative work for many student populations.
The solution: The University College sub-brand
Kent State’s brand is strong and recognizable. To stand out within that brand, University College would have to innovate within, rather than strike out on its own. I worked with a graphic designer in University College, as well as Kent State’s primary web team, to create the UC Sub-Brand. In University College, headers are bigger and bolder, contrast is pumped up, copy is kept as simple as possible, grids are prominent, and gradient-overlaid images bring a unifying texture to the elements.
Kent State runs on a Drupal implementation. I used template elements and custom development to create the page designs shown below.
The Flagship: The UC website
What is “University College?” Even at Kent State, where the departments and staff of UC impact thousands of students per semester, the question is not uncommon. The homepage was re-designed from the ground up to tackle that question head-on by showing: “This is University College.”
The previous homepage had issues showing properly at different screen sizes, and was sub-optimal in its use of screen real estate. Those most responsible for University College’s direction felt that the sparse content did not accurately represent the achievements of those under the UC umbrella.
The content, layout and visual design of the website went through multiple iterations, working toward a balance between student stories and staff professional accomplishments, while remaining modular, accessible, and user-friendly at all screen sizes. Analytics from actual student use drove the specific resources linked on the site; the most sought-after resources were pushed to the fore.
Custom interior pages were also designed to showcase the UC mission and the awards and grants obtained by its departments.
University College’s 2020 homepage. View full site here.
Page design featuring the University College Student Ambassadors. View here.
Student Success Showcase. View here.
University College: The Departments
The ten departments that comprise University College are as different as they are excellent.
That is to say, though they overlap in purpose, they comprise a wide breadth of experience, scale and functionality.
Some departments, interact with almost every student at Kent State. Others provide assistance to specific populations, such as underrepresented students. Still others work largely behind the scenes to help get the details of their academic life in order.
As their functions differ vastly, so do their needs.
Some departments need front-facing, enticing visual design work and program promotion, while others require more organized back-end documentation so students can find the precise forms and requirements they need for their programs, while still others make use of all manner of web services.
The ASC is Here to Help You!
The Academic Success Center does it all - they interface with an incredible amount of students through their tutoring, supplemental instruction, and academic coaching programs, as well as providing students their own personalized Academic Success Plan. This means they need an engaging and simple website to direct students to their programs as well as detailed and up-to-date listings of the sessions and contact information for those programs.
Due to the hybrid nature of the 2020-21 school year, their programs (and the hundreds of individual sessions contained within) are all offered online. Achieving such a large shift of programs to virtual required collaboration with UC developers to automate and secure session links, as well as customizing and creating new apps to ensure students experienced no interruption in academic service.
The ASC homepage is organized with session links and academic resources readily available. Click to view.
The ASC uses many avenues to reach their students. These are short, "bite-size" tips for students to improve their academic lives. Click to view.
The student staff page implements a JavaScript sorting functionality to organize almost 70 student staff members across various types of academic assistance. Click to view.
Exploring the Unknown
Being “exploratory” shouldn’t be a dirty word at Kent. The Exploratory Advising Center provides a place for students trying to plan out their academic path to do just that in a supportive environment with the support of advisors.
The layouts and content of EAC webpages are designed to show students both the support they can expect from the advisors in the EAC as well as specific academic and career paths of exploratory students who have gone before them, to instill a sense of hope that they, too, can discover their academic future.
The EAC homepage is designed and written with students first in mind. From before their first day of classes through their graduation, students can picture themselves succeeding at Kent State. View here.
This is an in-process redesign and rewrite of EAC’s “Future Students” page, designed to explain the Exploratory program in simple terms. View the full design here.
In the Exploratory Spotlight, students who began in the Exploratory pre-major share their stories and encourage other future students. View here.
Engaging in Community… Wherever We Might Be
Community Engaged Learning is a hands-on, service-oriented department. Their lifeblood is connecting students to the communities around them and engaging in meaningful, mutually-beneficial service activities.
With the hybrid nature of the 2020-21 school year and the pressures of COVID-19, CEL had to get creative with their service projects. Some had to be heavily modified, others were reconsidered entirely, with new opportunities taking their place.
Their webpages have been designed in kind, to provide information for remote and in-person events, and integrated with a new Volunteer Management Platform to connect students with their communities in new ways.
“Kent State Together” is CEL’s push to connect students with service opportunities both because of and despite the COVID-19 pandemic. During fall semester, the page was constantly updated with new service opportunities from areas of critical need. View here.
The Campus Kitchen at Kent State provides a crucial service to the Kent community. This webpage was designed to showcase the success of the program, as well as to highlight where the next food banks would be so that those food-insecure individuals in the community can be helped. View here.