This project was made for Hackville 2021, Sheridan's flagship hackathon and was awarded 3rd place amongst 100+ participants. The product was then later reworked on as a personal project. Our project is also featured on Hackville's Instagram 🌟
My role in this project was a UX researcher and UX/UI designer. I created the surveys and competitive analysis while being a part of the ideating, wireframing and prototyping process.
The Sheridan community is large, there are students with different needs in order to fully access their potential for education. Currently, Sheridan has Accessible Learning (AL) to accommodate students with disabilities to ensure barrier-free access to education.
However, the current application process for Accessible Learning is complicated and restrictive for certain students, as it relies on emails and in-person contacts. Students had to go back and forth between paperwork and Sheridan’s administrative staff to complete their application.
How might we collaborate with the Sheridan community to reimagine education so that no one is left behind and can reach their full potential?
In response to giving everyone in the Sheridan community an opportunity to reach their full potential, we developed Sheridan Accessible Learning Portal.
We wanted to streamline this process to reduce students being referred to different places and reduce the complexity of applying. Our solution is a central online hub where Sheridan students can apply for accommodations, reducing inequalities in education.
Students can see an overview of the required steps the application progress and save their progress.
Meet with an Accessible Learning Advisor to determine the most suitable academic accommodations plan for students online.
View and upload medical and academic documents in one space for organization and accessibility.
Built-in accessibility features for students with specific needs. This includes bigger text, a screen narrator, and high color contrast.
To gain a better understanding of the problem at hand, we researched how other Canadian post-secondary institutions provided accommodation services for their students. We found that there were two methods post-secondary institutions relied on: online platforms and in-person contact.
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We identified the common similarities that made the different services effective.
Most platforms helped users identify what documents are needed based on the disability that the user had. Users could also consult an Accommodations Advisor to clarify needs or concerns.
Some platforms gave clear indicators of what steps to expect during different stages of the process. Students could also revisit their progress to track and change information.
Students had the option to learn more about the services provided by the school to ensure that students were set up for academic success.
We wanted to learn more about Sheridan students' experience when applying for accommodations. This was done as user surveys and involves Sheridan students that are eligible for accessible learning. Our primary focus for the survey was to answer the following questions:
We identified some of the pain points associated with the application process and were surprised to learn most people did not know about Sheridan's accommodation services until later on.
Most students highlighted the intricate process and paperwork involved with applying for accommodations.
50% of students eligible didn't know about the benefits of Accessible Learning when they first entered Sheridan.
Students had to talk back and forth with the administrative staff until their paperwork was completed.
Students had to contact the Accessible Learning Advisor each semester in order to forward their accommodation records to their professors.
Some students felt overwhelmed with managing applications while trying to adapt to the new school environment.
Based on the above pain points, we proposed a solution where:
At this stage, we prioritized on identifying how the key elements would interact with each other. Finishing this process helped the team visualize how we wanted the platform to be as a whole.
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This project is aimed at the Sheridan community and designed to be incorporated into the Sheridan website. Aligning with this motive, we implemented Sheridan's existing styles and branding into our portal.
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Or click on the button below to fully view the prototype in Adobe XD.
View Prototype Full ScreenAlthough our prototype was amazing given the 36 hour time restriction we had, one of my teammates and I saw more room for improvement after the hackathon. We revisited our work and added new changes as iterations. Here are some changes we made:
Taking the time to take a step and conduct research helped us further understand the problems and struggles students with disabilities face. By validating our research, we removed prior assumptions and worked on a solution crafted with careful planning and decision making.
I worked with a team of amazing designers and am grateful to have won 3rd place at this hackathon. We achieved this mainly because we communicated openly and exchanged feedback throughout the entire process. We made a concrete plan to tackle this project, assigned roles and followed through with our goals.
