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Updating The Advising Experience
Updating The Advising Experience
Updating The Advising Experience
Updating The Advising Experience
Updating The Advising Experience
The Product
A centralized advising website for all students at Missouri S&T, ensuring clarity and accessibility of advising information across the university.
The Challenge
The previous advising site was misleading, as it only served first-year students, first-year transfers, and undeclared majors, while marketing itself as a resource for all students. This led to confusion and students seeking advising in the wrong places.
Objective
Redesign and restructure the advising website to serve all students, regardless of their department or academic standing.
The Product
A centralized advising website for all students at Missouri S&T, ensuring clarity and accessibility of advising information across the university.
The Challenge
The previous advising site was misleading, as it only served first-year students, first-year transfers, and undeclared majors, while marketing itself as a resource for all students. This led to confusion and students seeking advising in the wrong places.
Objective
Redesign and restructure the advising website to serve all students, regardless of their department or academic standing.
The Product
A centralized advising website for all students at Missouri S&T, ensuring clarity and accessibility of advising information across the university.
The Challenge
The previous advising site was misleading, as it only served first-year students, first-year transfers, and undeclared majors, while marketing itself as a resource for all students. This led to confusion and students seeking advising in the wrong places.
Objective
Redesign and restructure the advising website to serve all students, regardless of their department or academic standing.
The Product
A centralized advising website for all students at Missouri S&T, ensuring clarity and accessibility of advising information across the university.
The Challenge
The previous advising site was misleading, as it only served first-year students, first-year transfers, and undeclared majors, while marketing itself as a resource for all students. This led to confusion and students seeking advising in the wrong places.
Objective
Redesign and restructure the advising website to serve all students, regardless of their department or academic standing.
The Product
A centralized advising website for all students at Missouri S&T, ensuring clarity and accessibility of advising information across the university.
The Challenge
The previous advising site was misleading, as it only served first-year students, first-year transfers, and undeclared majors, while marketing itself as a resource for all students. This led to confusion and students seeking advising in the wrong places.
Objective
Redesign and restructure the advising website to serve all students, regardless of their department or academic standing.
2025
Timeline
UX Designer
My Role
UX Designer, Faculty, Leadership, Communications & Promotions Manager
UX Designer, Faculty, Leadership, Communications & Promotions Manager
UX Designer, Faculty, Leadership, Communications & Promotions Manager
UX Designer, Faculty, Leadership, Communications & Promotions Manager
The Team
Our success
The site was recently launched, awaiting feedback and any sort of data to gauge our success.
My Role
My Role
I served as the Lead UX Designer for this project, overseeing its completion. Since the university does not have project or product managers, it is usually our responsibility—as one of three designers—to ensure the successful execution of our projects.
Initially, I took on project management duties until the department now overseeing advising hired a new employee to manage their online presence. We also develop our designs using Terminalfour or WordPress.
I served as the Lead UX Designer for this project, overseeing its completion. Since the university does not have project or product managers, it is usually our responsibility—as one of three designers—to ensure the successful execution of our projects.
Initially, I took on project management duties until the department now overseeing advising hired a new employee to manage their online presence. We also develop our designs using Terminalfour or WordPress.
Project Kickoff
Project Kickoff
The Vice Chancellor (VC) of Student Success initiated this project after advising was moved under her leadership. The goal was to build a comprehensive and accessible advising hub for the entire student body.
The Vice Chancellor (VC) of Student Success initiated this project after advising was moved under her leadership. The goal was to build a comprehensive and accessible advising hub for the entire student body.
Faculty Resistance & Early Challenges
Faculty Resistance & Early Challenges
Each of Missouri S&T’s three colleges had multiple departments with differing advising structures. Many faculty members resisted the new site, preferring to maintain advising information on their own departmental pages—despite most of them lacking adequate information online.
Additionally, I initially assumed advising was structured uniformly across departments (e.g., students assigned by last name). However, each department had a different approach:
Some assigned specific faculty advisors.
Others used all faculty members.
Some relied on professional advisors and faculty members
The S&T Advising Center (will talk more about this department later)
This fragmentation made it difficult to create a one-size-fits-all solution.
Each of Missouri S&T’s three colleges had multiple departments with differing advising structures. Many faculty members resisted the new site, preferring to maintain advising information on their own departmental pages—despite most of them lacking adequate information online.
Additionally, I initially assumed advising was structured uniformly across departments (e.g., students assigned by last name). However, each department had a different approach:
Some assigned specific faculty advisors.
Others used all faculty members.
Some relied on professional advisors and faculty members
The S&T Advising Center (will talk more about this department later)
This fragmentation made it difficult to create a one-size-fits-all solution.
Roadblocks in Information Gathering
Roadblocks in Information Gathering
Attempts to collect necessary information from departments proved challenging. Most faculty resisted sharing details and instead voiced opposition to the new site. The only way forward was to pivot the approach.
Attempts to collect necessary information from departments proved challenging. Most faculty resisted sharing details and instead voiced opposition to the new site. The only way forward was to pivot the approach.
Pivoting the Approach
Pivoting the Approach
Realizing I needed a new strategy, I consulted with the VC of Student Success. She provided essential advising information that she knew would be helpful for all students.
Leveraging my experience in stakeholder management, I implemented a method I’ve found highly effective: mockup-first feedback loops. By creating a preliminary structure and showing it to faculty, I could encourage them to correct inaccuracies rather than having to extract information from them proactively. This approach helped move the project forward.
Realizing I needed a new strategy, I consulted with the VC of Student Success. She provided essential advising information that she knew would be helpful for all students.
Leveraging my experience in stakeholder management, I implemented a method I’ve found highly effective: mockup-first feedback loops. By creating a preliminary structure and showing it to faculty, I could encourage them to correct inaccuracies rather than having to extract information from them proactively. This approach helped move the project forward.
Defining the Site Structure
Defining the Site Structure
Once I developed a working prototype, the next step was deciding how to categorize advising resources. Three options emerged:
Once I developed a working prototype, the next step was deciding how to categorize advising resources. Three options emerged:
1
By College
A broad overview of each of the three colleges.
1
By College
A broad overview of each of the three colleges.
1
By College
A broad overview of each of the three colleges.
1
By College
A broad overview of each of the three colleges.
1
By College
A broad overview of each of the three colleges.
2
By College with Department Links
General advising info at the college level with links to each department’s advising page.
2
By College with Department Links
General advising info at the college level with links to each department’s advising page.
2
By College with Department Links
General advising info at the college level with links to each department’s advising page.
2
By College with Department Links
General advising info at the college level with links to each department’s advising page.
2
By College with Department Links
General advising info at the college level with links to each department’s advising page.
3
By Department
Listing out all of the departments, ensuring students didn’t have to know their college affiliation to find their advising resources.
3
By Department
Listing out all of the departments, ensuring students didn’t have to know their college affiliation to find their advising resources.
3
By Department
Listing out all of the departments, ensuring students didn’t have to know their college affiliation to find their advising resources.
3
By Department
Listing out all of the departments, ensuring students didn’t have to know their college affiliation to find their advising resources.
3
By Department
Listing out all of the departments, ensuring students didn’t have to know their college affiliation to find their advising resources.
Choosing the Best Student Experience
Choosing the Best Student Experience
We chose Option 3 because it provided students with the simplest and most intuitive experience, reducing the number of clicks needed to find their advising information. Students often don’t know which college their department belongs to, so this structure eliminated unnecessary friction in the navigation process.
By structuring the site this way, we were also able to implement an advising page for each department, hosted on their site but linked directly from the main advising page. These pages, categorized under their respective colleges, ensured that students could quickly find their department and access the necessary advising information without confusion.
Each department’s advising page included:
Advisor contact information
Advising processes
Forms and important links
This approach balanced centralization with departmental autonomy, giving departments control over their content while ensuring a consistent and user-friendly experience for students.
We chose Option 3 because it provided students with the simplest and most intuitive experience, reducing the number of clicks needed to find their advising information. Students often don’t know which college their department belongs to, so this structure eliminated unnecessary friction in the navigation process.
By structuring the site this way, we were also able to implement an advising page for each department, hosted on their site but linked directly from the main advising page. These pages, categorized under their respective colleges, ensured that students could quickly find their department and access the necessary advising information without confusion.
Each department’s advising page included:
Advisor contact information
Advising processes
Forms and important links
This approach balanced centralization with departmental autonomy, giving departments control over their content while ensuring a consistent and user-friendly experience for students.
Overcoming Stakeholder Resistance
Overcoming Stakeholder Resistance
Despite the progress, the university’s siloed structure within departments and colleges made it difficult to identify the right contacts and locate the necessary information. Many departments operated independently, with little cross-communication, making it challenging to determine who had ownership over specific details. Efforts to schedule meetings were largely unsuccessful, and even deadlines set by the VC were missed.
With a new hire soon joining to oversee student success’s online presence, we decided to pause the project until she was onboarded. Once she started, I worked closely with her as she leveraged her authority to push departments for the required information. Her access to advising-related resources, which had previously been difficult to obtain, helped us confirm the accuracy of the content for the site.
Despite the progress, the university’s siloed structure within departments and colleges made it difficult to identify the right contacts and locate the necessary information. Many departments operated independently, with little cross-communication, making it challenging to determine who had ownership over specific details. Efforts to schedule meetings were largely unsuccessful, and even deadlines set by the VC were missed.
With a new hire soon joining to oversee student success’s online presence, we decided to pause the project until she was onboarded. Once she started, I worked closely with her as she leveraged her authority to push departments for the required information. Her access to advising-related resources, which had previously been difficult to obtain, helped us confirm the accuracy of the content for the site.
Handling the S&T Advising Center’s Unique Role
Handling the S&T Advising Center’s Unique Role
The S&T Advising Center handles first-year, first-year transfer, and undeclared student advising but has a misleading name that suggests it serves all students. Since renaming was not an option, I ensured clarity by:
Only linking to their information under the advising by program section so students will understand who they advise and won't see their name anywhere else on the site.
The S&T Advising Center handles first-year, first-year transfer, and undeclared student advising but has a misleading name that suggests it serves all students. Since renaming was not an option, I ensured clarity by:
Only linking to their information under the advising by program section so students will understand who they advise and won't see their name anywhere else on the site.
Constraints: Budget & Timeline Limitations
Constraints: Budget & Timeline Limitations
Due to budget constraints driven by anticipated U.S. federal budget cuts and a tight project timeline, dedicated user testing and research were not feasible. Instead, I conducted:
Competitive analysis to benchmark against similar university advising sites.
Heuristic evaluations to identify usability issues and best practices.
While actual user testing was not possible, these methods helped ensure a user-centered design approach within the given constraints.
Additionally, I created a slide deck presentation to communicate design decisions and gain stakeholder buy-in, showcasing the proposed site structure and user experience. I did not need to use this since we were able to get the information I needed but was prepared to present it to each department as needed.
Due to budget constraints driven by anticipated U.S. federal budget cuts and a tight project timeline, dedicated user testing and research were not feasible. Instead, I conducted:
Competitive analysis to benchmark against similar university advising sites.
Heuristic evaluations to identify usability issues and best practices.
While actual user testing was not possible, these methods helped ensure a user-centered design approach within the given constraints.
Additionally, I created a slide deck presentation to communicate design decisions and gain stakeholder buy-in, showcasing the proposed site structure and user experience. I did not need to use this since we were able to get the information I needed but was prepared to present it to each department as needed.
Outcome & Next Steps
Outcome & Next Steps
We successfully launched the advising website in February 2025, prioritizing core functionality to meet the deadline before the summer semester. The site continues to evolve, with additional features like sample degree plans for each department in the works.
We successfully launched the advising website in February 2025, prioritizing core functionality to meet the deadline before the summer semester. The site continues to evolve, with additional features like sample degree plans for each department in the works.
