iFactory Team On-Site Visit
The two-day onsite engagement marked a pivotal shift from an internal, organization-chart-heavy web presence to a “Students First, Org Chart Never” digital experience. By pressure-testing the proposed sitemap, homepage design, and specific user pathways against real student personas, the project teams have aligned on a highly streamlined framework for the future of austincc.edu.
Livestream Recording:
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Overview of Presentations & Workshops
Show & Tell: A Working Preview
The session grounded stakeholders in a prospective-student lens, introducing a top-tier sitemap structured entirely around the user journey and a new homepage focused on establishing belonging.
- Key Paradigm Shift: Distinguishing between internal and external needs. Current student and employee logistical content will be intentionally decoupled from the primary marketing site to reduce friction for prospective “shoppers,” leaning heavily on search, a clean interim portal, and a dedicated intranet.
Workshop #1: Admissions + How to Apply
This interactive session aimed to streamline the complex application pipeline by mapping content to three primary student questions: Can I do this? Can I afford it? Will I belong here?
- The Content Mandate: Streamline, cut, and edit. The team committed to removing non-critical administrative information from the primary path. Rather than deleting niche data, the content strategy relies on robust search behavior to surface detailed info deeper in the site when a student explicitly requires it.
- Intersectionality: A major focus was placed on optimizing the path for students who fit into more than one application bucket (e.g., a first-generation student who is also a dual-credit high schooler).
Workshop #2: Schools + Departments
Stakeholders established a definitive structural logic to solve internal organizational clutter on the public site:
- Schools (Outward-Facing): A fresh organizing principle designed to help prospective students intuitively browse “families of programs.”
- Programs (Outward-Facing): The destination where students find the specific subjects they want to study.
- Departments (Internal Concept): Recognized largely as an internal concept. The workshop focused on establishing a standardized, reusable “must-have” content model for department pages to avoid over-communication and cognitive overload.
Workshop #3: Web Workgroup & Rollout
The final session closed the loop with internal stakeholders, establishing expectations for immediate usability testing with real students using the newly designed flows and preparing teams for a phased rollout.
Key Insights from Slido Feedback
An analysis of the real-time Slido submissions from the application and current student data reveals significant, actionable takeaways regarding user needs and organizational vulnerabilities.
A. “How to Apply” Pipeline Concerns
Feedback heavily emphasized that the current application process is confusing, particularly for non-traditional and dual-credit students.
- The Need for Clarity: Stakeholders repeatedly called for explicit, step-by-step checklists to guide applications, a transparent timeline from application to registration, and an easily accessible glossary explaining confusing academic jargon (e.g., distinguishing between dual credit, AP, academies, and credits).
- The Parent Factor: A prominent theme emerged around high school parents. They are actively seeking distinct clarity regarding cost, the literal definition of dual credit, and legal boundaries like FERPA (i.e., “How much info can actually be shared with parents?”).
- Bilingual Access: Requests explicitly highlighted a need for clear, Spanish-language Spanish support pipelines during the application phase.
B. What Current Students Actually Need
When polling internal stakeholders on what current students look for, the data diverged into functional, transactional tasks and deeper department-level resources:
- Transactional Friction: Students primary motivations are highly task-oriented: class scheduling, understanding how to get classes “unlocked” for registration, clear pathways for transferring out to four-year universities, and navigating financial aid/tuition.
- Departmental Community & Utility: For department pages to be useful, respondents noted they must feature clear contact paths (differentiating between an ACC general advisor vs. a department advisor), faculty profiles, program maps, and student success stories.
Overarching Themes
Students First vs. Org Chart Clutter
A unifying theme across every presentation is that a student does not have value for and should not have to know which specific administrative office owns a piece of content. The new site layout must strictly follow user intent rather than internal institutional reporting structures.
Consistency as a Trust Vector
A major theme highlighted in the Request for Information (RFI) segment is that fragmented user experiences kill institutional trust. If a student fills out an inquiry form on one department page and receives a radically different response timeline or format than they do on another, it breaks the institutional promise. Consistency is the ultimate deliverable. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) platforms including Salesforce were discussed as a reinforcing experience in the prospective student journey.
Search as a Content De-cluttering Tool
To achieve a “lighter” and cleaner user experience, the team must resist the urge to place all information on primary navigation menus. High-performing onsite search functionality must be leveraged so that highly technical, niche data lives deep within the architecture, keeping the primary entry funnels welcoming and simple.
Strategic Recommendations to Consider
- Audit and Standardize the RFI Pipeline: Before the site rolls out, complete a comprehensive audit of how various departments handle inquiry forms. Build a unified communication expectation and response SLA so the student experience feels cohesive.
- Prioritize a Plain-Language Glossary: Academic jargon (TSI, developmental education, credit hours, pathways) is a massive barrier to entry, particularly for first-generation students. Integrate clear tooltips or a plain-language glossary directly into the “How to Apply” workflow and other journeys.
- Design an Explicit “Parent/Guardian” Portal Hub: Given the high volume of Slido questions regarding dual credit, costs, and FERPA constraints, consider creating a dedicated secondary landing page tailored to parents of high school applicants to address their specific anxieties without cluttering the student-facing path.
- Maintain Rigor in Usability Testing: As the project pivots to testing the redesigned flows with real prospective and current students, treat points of user hesitation as valuable data. Use these findings strictly to refine the UX before development begins, ensuring the new site directly moves the needle toward the 70% completion goal.