A centralized dashboard for student productivity and collaboration.
00
Problem
Managing coursework across multiple classes is often overwhelming for students due to cluttered navigation, inconsistent organization, and limited support for tracking deadlines and discussions. Important information is frequently buried, making it difficult for students to maintain clarity, stay organized, and confidently manage their academic responsibilities within a single platform.
Solution
This project rethinks course management as a guided academic workflow by prioritizing tasks, simplifying discussions, and embedding contextual AI support. It helps students quickly understand what needs attention, access the right resources, and stay oriented, focused, and on track across multiple courses.
product
Learning Management System
category
UX Design
tools
Figma
timeframe
Aug 2025 - Dec 2025
MyCourses is the primary learning management system used by students at RIT to manage coursework, assignments, discussions, and academic communication. Students rely on it daily to stay on top of deadlines, access course materials, and coordinate with peers and faculty across multiple classes.
Despite being central to academic life, MyCourses often functions more as a content repository than a supportive workflow, requiring students to piece together information across courses, tabs, and external tools.
Design Process
How students currently navigate MyCourses and where the experience breaks down
Uncovering how students track coursework, communicate, and stay on top of deadlines
Reframing course management from scattered pages into a guided academic workflow
Redesigning assignments and discussions as centralized, task-driven experiences
Reducing navigation effort while improving clarity, focus, and collaboration
01
Context & Existing Experience Audit
The existing MyCourses interface prioritizes content storage over task clarity. Navigation friction and fragmented workflows make even routine tasks unnecessarily complex. A closer look at the existing experience reveals several recurring breakdowns that directly impact how students track work, find information, and collaborate.
02
Research & Understanding
To validate these observations, I conducted a student survey focused on how learners use MyCourses in their day-to-day academic workflow. The goal was to understand real behaviors rather than ideal scenarios—how students track assignments, find instructions, and collaborate with peers when time and attention are limited.
User Research Insights
"I struggle to keep track of deadlines across all my courses in one place."
"Every course feels like it’s organized differently, so nothing is predictable"
"MyCourses feels more like a submission portal than a place to collaborate."
"We use group chats because discussions don’t really encourage conversations."
User Persona
Empathy Map
Synthesis: Where Audit and Research Converged
Students reported difficulty tracking assignments across classes, searching through multiple tabs to find instructions, and relying on external tools like group chats to stay organized. These responses directly aligned with the audit findings around fragmentation, buried context, and cognitive overload.
03
Defining the Opportunity
With the key pain points identified, the focus shifted to defining a clear design direction. This phase translated research insights into concrete goals, restructured information architecture, and established principles to guide the redesigned experience.
Design Goals
01
Never Miss an Assignment
Make deadlines difficult to miss by prioritizing tasks based on urgency, visibility, and time sensitivity across all courses.
02
Strengthen Collaboration
Design discussions that are easier to follow, revisit, and engage with, helping students stay involved without missing context.
03
Reduce Cognitive Load
Reduce mental effort by simplifying navigation and surfacing only what matters most at each step.
Core Workflows: Existing vs Redesigned
Fragmented Assignment Workflows
Assignments, a core feature of MyCourses, are accessed through multiple disconnected flows depending on whether students are looking for instructions or submitting work. Both pathways are buried within individual courses, with no centralized view across classes. This fragmentation increases cognitive load and makes it difficult for students to confidently track what’s due.
Task-First Assignment Architecture
Assignments are no longer buried within individual courses. By introducing layered entry points that converge into a centralized hub, the system reduces cognitive load and enables students to manage deadlines across courses with clarity and control.
Disconnected Discussion Workflows
Discussions, intended to foster collaboration, function more like static submission threads than ongoing conversations. Access is limited to individual courses, with no global visibility into active discussions. The absence of notifications, engagement indicators, and clear reply pathways makes it difficult for students to track activity or participate meaningfully over time.
Centralized & Interactive Discussions System
Discussions are redesigned as dynamic, searchable collaboration spaces. With unified access, clearer thread entry points, and AI-supported summaries, students can follow conversations, participate meaningfully, and stay informed without navigating fragmented course pages.
04
Design & Exploration
After defining the core architecture and workflows, the next step was translating these insights into a cohesive interface. The design phase focused on exploring layouts, prioritizing task visibility, and creating a system that reduces cognitive load while supporting cross-course navigation.
Initial Wireframes
Final UI Design
02 Assignment Workspace
05
Outcome and Impact
The redesigned system successfully addresses the initial design goals. The updated workflows reduce the number of steps required to access and complete key academic tasks.
01 Cross-Course Visibility
Students can now view assignments and discussions across all courses from centralized hubs rather than navigating into each course individually.
02 Reduced Navigation Depth
Layered entry points from the Home dashboard and global navigation allow students to access tasks in fewer steps.
03 Improved Collaboration
Discussion threads are redesigned as active conversation spaces where students can follow messages, share files, and interact with peers more naturally.
04 Clearer Academic Overview
The dashboard surfaces key academic signals such as deadlines, updates, and conversations, helping students prioritize work and stay organized.
Task Steps Reduction
5 → 2
Assignment submission steps
4 → 1
Assignment discovery
3 → 1
Discussion access
explore more
