Research Proposal

A highly accessible and visually appealing User Interface (UI) & User Experience (UX) can make or break a platform's success. According to Forbes, quality User Interface can improve a sites conversion rates by around 200%, and strategic UX can raise them to around 400%. As a result, I intend to research the student experience of UOW's Student Online Services (SOLS) platform and discover if it truly reflects the values and standards of the "young, dynamic and innovative university" that it serves.

For new UOW students, SOLS is one of the first contact points they will have with the university. High quality aesthetic design will evoke pleasure and excitement (Sutcliffe & Carroll, 2010). However, an outdated and hard to navigate Student Service platform can develop a bad taste for new students, whilst increasing stress trying to locate features, or while participating in the present gladiator-style tutorial enrolment system.

I aim to learn more about how other students use SOLS in their university related processes, is it a tool or a detriment? Can users efficiently locate what they're looking for? Does the current tutorial enrolment process create an unnecessarily stressful situation for already stressed students?

Given the rapidly changing landscape of the internet and what we use it for, It's crucial that the systems we use remain current, both visually and functionally. Students that use SOLS and have a positive experience, will in-turn have an improved experience and perception of the university as a whole (Sillence, et al., 2004). As a current UOW student who uses the SOLS platform on a near daily basis, I believe this topic to be extremely achievable. There are currently over 33,000 students enrolled at UOW, all using SOLS in one way or another, which makes this a very timely and relevant topic. With the potential to improve a large element of UOW student's online experience.

As a second-year Bachelor of Communication and Media student at the University of Wollongong, I bring a unique perspective to the exploration of the student experience of the SOLS platform. With a background in developing and implementing UI & UX design for multiple applications, targeted at both public and private markets, I am well-equipped to critically evaluate the platform's usability, accessibility, and overall visual design. As a member of Generation Z, which statistically has the most usage of modern technology and media, I have extensive experience with various digital tools and interfaces, which further enriches my ability to explore this topic.

Based on my personal experience as a UOW student, the SOLS platform is outdated and needs an overhaul both visually and in many key functions. In particular, I believe that the tutorial enrolment process could be significantly improved to provide students with a more streamlined and comfortable experience. Through my research, I hope to shed light on areas where SOLS could be enhanced to better serve the needs of the diverse student body that exists at UOW, and contribute to overall efforts to improve student engagement within the University (Lawrence, 2022).