SOLS: A Digital Dinosaur in the Modern Age of Education

Administration is a significant part of all enrolled students' lives whilst studying at University (Bhuta, et al., 2021). Currently, over 33,000+ UOW students have access to SOLS (Student Online Services) to manage most aspects of their relationship with The University of Wollongong. As a business, UOW has a responsibility to ensure customer satisfaction. This includes the maintenance of seamless and efficient administration systems (Rasli, et al., 2011). This expectation has only increased since the upheaval of COVID-19 and the online learning movement, with more users expecting a certain level of functionality and visual appearance, especially from larger institutions (UX Design Institute, 2020). A 2006 study at Carleton University, Canada discovered that users form a reliable impression of websites in as little as 50 milliseconds (Lindgaard, et al., 2006). Further highlighting the importance of making an excellent first impression.

A Trap...

My experience as a student with SOLS has been rather disappointing. UOW presents itself as a dynamic, industry-leading and modern university. Their public website reflects these qualities well. However, once I enrolled, I encountered outdated and unreliable IT systems that were quite a shock. According to Salesforce, 76% of customers expect consistent interactions across departments (Salesforce, 2020). Unfortunately, UOW has fallen short in meeting this expectation, leaving me disappointed. Too embarrassed to share SOLS with friends from other universities, and determined to find out if my experience was unique, I set out to discover whether other students also felt that SOLS was in need of a revamp.

My research consisted of 33 UOW students enrolled in BCM212. Based on larger User Experience (UX) projects, I conducted my research through both online surveys and virtual focus group discussions (Baxter, et al., 2015). I focused on 3 key points in my research:

• General Usability and Reputation
• Visual Appearance
• System Processes and Flows

According to my 33 participants, 78% believe that SOLS is functionally and visually outdated. This sentiment was reinforced by the preferences expressed by participants when shown the top modern User Interface (UI) designs on graphic design website, Dribbble. Indicating a need for a more visually compelling and functional platform. A similar study conducted in India with 200 participants found that in educational systems, users prefer more attractive and simpler interface designs, than dull and complex ones (Senevirathne & Manathunga, 2021).

Unreliability & Website Failure

I discovered that 50% of my participants experienced technical issues with the site in the last month, such as website loading problems, crashes, and persistent email reminders, even after users had marked the message as read. Such challenges not only disrupt academic workflows, but also cause unnecessary stress and frustration for students. Especially during mission-critical operations such as enrolling in tutorials.

Assuming IMTS aims for a 99.9% reliability rate, which aligns with typical industry standards, and based on an average website engagement rate for Higher Education & College websites of 71%. We can estimate that around 23,461 students access SOLS each month. This may fluctuate during enrolment and final mark periods. With a 0.1% unreliability rate, about 23 users/month may encounter issues. Interestingly, my participants who faced technical difficulties accounted for 70% of the total failure budget for the month. Making them either extremely unlucky, or, indicating that technical issues are more common than we may think. Such failures and technical issues can negatively affect student satisfaction and trust in the platform (Dabrowski, et al., 2014).

Currently, SOLS has 29 different buttons for each element of their enrolment, hidden underneath double-layered drop-down tabs. 90% of my participants noted that they believed their experience with SOLS would be more efficient after implementing a search bar feature. A SOLS specialised search engine would allow students to access exactly what they're looking for more efficiently (Chau, 2005) & (Fuangvut, 2005).

A Personalised Approach

When my participants were faced with the option of adding the following features, based on recommendations from a student user survey on educational portals (Oliha, 2021).

• A Personalised Dashboard
• Student Organisations Management
• Career Services
• Student Community Form
• Student Feedback System

The clear winner was having a personalised dashboard. 79% of participants felt that their experience with SOLS would be significantly improved if it featured customisation options like an individualised dashboard with personal information, fees, enrolments, grades, and academic progress. Given the increasing scarcity of attention, personalised and more tightly focused information ensures users are only shown what's relevant to them (Huberman & Wu, 2007). Salesforce found that 66% of customers expect companies to understand their unique needs (Salesforce, 2020). By shaping the platform to each student's individual preferences, UOW can create a more inclusive and user-focused environment, which aims to enhance overall customer satisfaction (Aggarwal & Yu, 2002). Whilst benefitting the University by reminding students to pay their fees, enrol and confer on-time.

Tutorial Enrolment or Gladiator Match?

The SOLS tutorial enrolment process was mentioned frequently among my participants. UOW currently uses a first-come, first-served approach, requiring students to be present when tutorials open, often late at night. This causes stress as students compete for preferred classes. If a tutorial fills up, students are left with less desirable timeslots or may need to unenroll. Losing UOW business. 70% of my sample students found this process stressful. 81% of participants agreed that a preferential-based enrolment approach would improve efficiency and reduce stress. Students vote on preferred availabilities, and resources would be allocated based on preferences (Man, et al., 2022). This method is already utilised at many large universities in Australia and ensures everyone has a fair chance.

A Student Feedback Driven SOLS

The results show that the majority of my participating students find SOLS outdated in multiple ways, which reassured me as I shared a similar experience. All quotes are from actual UOW students. It's important to note that this research population is too small to draw definitive conclusions about SOLS. However, a larger sample size encompassing all UOW student faculties could provide valuable insights. By offering a more appealing and feature-rich service, UOW could increase user adoption and alleviate the strain on AskUOW services, which frequently face wait times of over an hour, whilst improving overall student satisfaction.

Based on my research findings, I constructed a new user interface design for SOLS that tackles student pain points and follows modern design benchmarks.