Understanding what UX means in higher education

When asked what test he would recommend to determine whether a piece was art or pornography, Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart famously answered, “I know it when I see it.” While such an answer is simultaneously fitting and wanting, the same could be said of “UX”. Short-hand for “user experience”, varying definitions do exist for UX, many of which we’ll explore here. That’s not to say UX is so esoteric it can’t be pinned down, or so abstract that’s it’s not real and useful. On the contrary, UX is a powerful force, and those in the UX world agree it’s a necessary ingredient for transforming the world. I’ll first talk about different ways of expressing UX, ties these into examples in higher ed, and conclude with questions that remain outstanding.

What is UX? And please, be specific.

I’ve gathered each of these from fellow Mediumites (Mediumanders? Mediumonians? Still figuring that one out…) I highly highly recommend reading their work, which I’ve linked to for your convenience.

UX as a mindset (or, the way you think about things)

“UX is a mindset…A way of proactively creating a good experience, as defined by specific goals, for a defined set of users.” — Sarah Harrison

UX as design (or, the way you create things)

“User experience design takes a product, or an idea — a new one or an existing one — and strives to put the user at the heart of it. It’s an approach that puts the user ahead of aesthetic choices; designing function over form.” — Katie Mellor

UX as a strategy (or, the way you accomplish things)

“UX simply means: helping the users get a great experience in accomplishing their tasks at all stages: before, during and after the task.” — Chaymae Lougmani

UX as a gap-filler (or, where we’d be without UX)

“ “Without UX there would be less focus on understanding the users of systems and products. In developing a product or service the success of UX lies in bridging the gap between merely making assumptions about what features users want, and truly understanding how the product fits into users’ everyday lives.” — Per Axbom

Well, there you have it. As you can see, it is a touch difficult to nail down a working answer to “what is UX?” It can exist in who we are, as mindsets; in what we create, as a design tool; and in how we do things, as a strategy; among other places.

Ok, I’ll bite: UX is pretty cool. But why should higher ed care?

To keep the flow going, I’ll offer examples of UX as it emerges in the areas described above. Remember, these are just different expressions of UX, and not distinct forms.

UX as a mindset in higher ed

What does the on-boarding experience look like for first-time students? Many colleges have programmed Welcome Weeks, created first-year experience (FYE) courses, and trained administrators on how to work with new students. Encouraging professionals at an institution to empathize with the experience of a first-time student is UX in action, as a mindset.

UX as design in higher ed

Students care about the function of a solution, not its form. Many colleges offer information about their professors’ ratings to students, yet this information is hard to find, difficult to understand, and doesn’t answer the questions they care about. In other words, it’s designed by the institution for the institution, not the student. Although imperfect, RateMyProfessor.com — which is easy to navigate, read, and tells me what I want to know — is an example of UX design in action.

UX as a strategy in higher ed

One of the trickiest services to tackle in higher ed is advising. Advising approaches tend to strategize around people providing the service, rather than the student. Do we hire full-time advisors, or allocate faculty time? A robust UX analysis might recognize that some students need technical information about course requirements (better offered by full-time advisors), while others need professional advice about preparing for a career path (better offered by professors). A UX approach to strategy emphasizes the needs of a student informing the advising model, not vice versa.

What’s next?

None of this is gospel. Rather, I hope these definitions and quotes and examples spur your thinking, and perhaps even begin an embrace of UX in higher ed.

• For higher ed, who is the “U” in “UX”?
• How might we professionalize UX (e.g., as a Vice President for UX, professional development of student affairs professionals, etc.)?
• What are awesome examples of UX thinking — whether as a mindset, strategy, or something else entirely — being utilized in higher ed?