Student Success Tracker

Mobile-First Progress Tracking for Retention

Client

Kent State University

Role

UX Designer

Users

University Students

Focus

EdTech

The Problem

Students struggle to understand how courses, milestones, and requirements connect to their path to graduation. Existing systems prioritized institutional structure over student comprehension—leading to confusion, disengagement, and missed requirements.

Constraints

  • Alignment with departmental design standards
  • Responsive behavior across devices
  • Conceptual validation scope (not full production build)

My Role

UX designer focused on structure and interaction: functional mapping, mobile-first user flows, low-fidelity wireframes, and alignment with existing standards.

The Solution

I designed the tracker as a progress visualization tool—answering one question: "Where am I, and what's next?"

Mobile-first layout: Reflecting how students actually access information.

Clear visual indicators: Progress toward graduation shown at a glance.

Functional grouping: Requirements organized to reduce cognitive load.

User flows: Designed for comprehension, not administrative completeness.

The Outcome

  • Established a UX foundation for a student-facing progress tracking feature.
  • Prioritized clarity, accessibility, and motivation over administrative detail.
  • Created design artifacts that could inform future development.
  • Demonstrated principles that translate directly to consumer-facing product design.

What This Shows:

Progress visibility drives engagement. Simplifying complex systems—whether academic requirements or loan applications—increases user confidence and reduces friction.