Project Overview
Simon Business School entered the non-degree education market (certificates, executive education, individual courses) but lacked website infrastructure to showcase offerings across multiple course types and five application terms. I designed a scalable catalog system that enabled course discovery, faculty promotion, and enrollment - Simon's first structured non-degree platform.
My Role & Timeline
Lead UX Designer — Research, information architecture, interaction design, prototyping, and design system creation. Collaborated with admissions, advancement, and development teams. Delivered in 3 months.
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Tools & Resources
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Figma
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Figma Make
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User flow
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UX Research
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Stakeholder Interviews
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Asset Creation
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Adobe Illustrator
The Problem
Simon Business School was entering the non-degree education market without any existing infrastructure to support it. The website was designed exclusively around traditional degree programs, creating multiple barriers to launching certificate and executive education offerings.
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No catalog structure for courses spanning multiple terms (Spring A/B, Fall A/B, Summer) and types
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No filtering capability for users to discover relevant courses
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Faculty needed individual promotional URLs, not just a master list
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Solution had to offer the ability to scale from a small list of courses to a gradual increase depending on demand over time, withint he same infrastructure.
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3-month deadline before Fall 2025 marketing campaign
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Unknown target audience (no existing persona data until after first round of course offerings)
Research Approach
Conducted 8 stakeholder interviews (faculty, admissions, advancement), competitive analysis of 6 peer business schools, and technical discovery with development team to understand Drupal constraints.
Key Insights
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Users needed dual filtering: course type AND term simultaneously
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Faculty wanted promotional control through shareable individual URLs
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Filter selections must persist when navigating to/from course details
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Text-first design with optional media performed better than image-heavy layouts
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Different course types served different purposes requiring unique value propositions
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Scalability was critical - course list to grow based off demand for courses and professor availability
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Information Architecture Strategy
The information architecture needed to solve two distinct problems: enabling user discovery through filtering, and allowing faculty to promote individual courses. I designed a dual-structure approach using Drupal's taxonomy system that would automatically populate filtered views while generating unique URLs for each course.
Taxonomy Structure
Created a hierarchical taxonomy with Course Type (Executive Education, Professional Certificates, Individual Courses, Workshop Series), Term (Spring A/B, Summer, Fall A/B), and additional tags for subject area, format, duration, and prerequisites. This structure enabled automated course population, dynamic URL generation, and multiple filtering combinations without manual page creation.
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Key Design Solutions
1. Multi-Criteria Filtering System
Dual-dropdown interface (Course Type + Term) with real-time results, filter persistence via session storage, and clear active filter indicators. Dropdown approach chosen over faceted search for initial small catalog size while remaining scalable to 40-50 courses (if needed).
2. Course Type Value Propositions
Collapsible contextual banner above filtered results highlighting 'what you will gain' for each course type. Balanced marketing needs with user task efficiency - visible on first view, collapsible to focus on course selection.
3. Individual Course Pages with Shareable URLs
Unique, human-readable URLs for each course enabling faculty promotion via social media and email. Each page included detailed description, learning objectives, schedule, pricing, clear CTA, and related courses. Filter selections preserved when navigating back to catalog.
4. Scalable Taxonomy Architecture
Leveraged Drupal taxonomy system for automated course population, dynamic URL generation, and multiple filtering combinations. Enabled admissions staff to manage content independently without developer involvement.
Technical Implementation
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Custom Drupal content type with structured fields and taxonomy vocabularies
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Dynamic views with exposed filters using Drupal's Views module
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JavaScript session storage for filter persistence
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SEO-friendly URL aliases for individual course pages
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Admin interface for non-technical staff to manage courses
Results & Impact
Engagement Metrics
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Non-degree course traffic and engagement was high, with admissions reporting heavy traffic with form submits.
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Session duration: 3 min 42 sec (strong engagement)
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Reduced clicks vs temporary solution implemented on website, clicks to a program now are 2 steps vs a 5 step process with the previous version
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Individual course pages: 4.2x more direct traffic than projected (faculty promotion success)
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28% clicked through to related courses (cross-promotion validated)
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41% mobile traffic with comparable engagement to desktop
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Business Impact
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Spring A enrollment: successfuly marketed these courses to bring students in, there was an initial question of having to cancel courses if the enrollment was not high enough.
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If successful, there are plans to lean more into these non-degree course offerrings
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Faculty-promoted URLs drove 23% of direct course page traffic
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Faculty and admissions both reported higher success on marketing from having web pages to promote these courses and not strictly relying on social media ad campaigns.
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Admissions team manages updates independently (no developer support needed).
Key Takeaways
Scalability From Day One
Modular design system set to accodomodate growth in course offerings between each cycle without redesign. Balance future-proofing with immediate needs - some features (like pagination) designed for scale were unnecessary at launch and could have been deferred.
Filter Persistence Has Outsized Impact
Preserving filter selections when navigating between catalog and course pages became the most-praised feature. Small UX details that reduce cognitive load have disproportionate impact on user satisfaction.
Empower Stakeholders as Marketers
Individual URLs transformed faculty from passive course providers to active marketers. Faculty-driven traffic exceeded institutional marketing efforts. Look for opportunities to empower stakeholders to promote content through their own channels.
Strategic Research Under Tight Deadlines
3-month timeline required focused research over comprehensive user studies. Competitive analysis and stakeholder interviews provided sufficient insights for informed decisions without delaying the project. Calibrate research depth to timeline constraints while maintaining user-centered principles.
Future Opportunities
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Advanced search with keyword and instructor name
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Personalized recommendations based on viewing history
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Email notifications for courses matching user interests
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CRM integration for application tracking
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Video testimonials for social proof
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Waitlist functionality for popular courses