College Scorecard

College Scorecard is a U.S. Department of Education tool for students, parents, and counselors to compare the cost and value of higher education institutions.

VIEW THE LIVE SITE

Client: U.S. Department of Education

Timeline: September 2024 - Ongoing

Overview & Impact

OVERVIEW

College Scorecard is a federal tool helping students, parents, and counselors compare higher education institutions. When I joined the project, the platform served millions but suffered from usability issues that prevented users from accessing vital data and features on the website. The client at the Department of Education tasked my team at RTI International with conducting user research to identify areas of improvement and redesigning the website.

IMPACT

+12%

Engagement Rate

-15%

Bounce Rate

Increased homepage-to-search conversion and reduced time to search and compare

Improved task completion rate during user interviews

The Process

01

User Research & Discovery

02

Home Page Redesign

03

Glossary Feature

04

Field of Study Update

User Research & Discovery

We began with 24 user interview sessions and a review of analytics and support tickets. Common usability issues surfaced:

Users couldn’t find the compare feature or overlooked it
The interface was dense, with inconsistent design patterns across devices
There was not a clear entry point to the site for students that didn’t have a specific school in mind to search

Old College Scorecard homepage

User Journey Map

User Research

RESEARCH QUESTIONS

Are users able to successfully use all of the features of Scorecard?
Can users successfully interpret Scorecard data?  
What are participants’ perceptions of the website overall? 
What would make the site more useful or easier to use?

METHODOLOGY

We conducted sessions virtually on Zoom and they lasted approximately an hour. To comply with the Paperwork Reduction Act, research was conducted through direct observation. Participants were asked to interact with the website as if they had landed there on their own.

PARTICIPANT DEMOGRAPHICS

Actionable Insights

01

The search bar is often overlooked, and users notice the resource links first.

Participants often skipped over the search bar and read the “Alternative Pathways to a Career” links first, sometimes clicking those links as their first action.

How might we keep users on the site, and lead users to the search page?

Old Home Page

02

The Compare process is confusing.

Several participants, both students and parents, missed the Compare function entirely. Some noted that the process to add schools to compare was confusing. A few users also noted that the compare icon does not make its function obvious, and that the checkmark could be mistaken as a verified symbol.

How might we simplify the Compare process and educate users on core functions of the website?

03

Acceptance rate is very important to students.

Many students listed the Acceptance Rate among their top, if not first, priorities. The statistic is currently hidden toward the bottom of the school profile under a collapsed tab, and can be difficult to find at a glance. Some participants wanted the option to filter by a range of test scores instead of just seeing that test score and below.

How might we align the featured metrics with what users are more interested to find?

04

Students are confused by the technical definitions in the glossary and tooltips.

The current “glossary” exists as a data repository for developers and data scientists to access the data. Several participants found this glossary and were confused by the long definitions for terms like “Median Earnings”, “Average Annual Cost”, especially the time ranges presented for the data.

How might we make the technical data and definitions more accessible for high school students that use the College Scorecard?

05

Some students do not have a specific college in mind.

The key entry point into the site is the search bar, where a student must either search for a specific school or field of study. Several participants, especially younger ones, did not have a specific college in mind to search for, and did not know where else to start.

How might we tailor the website to account for students on different points in their college search journey?

Recommendations

01

Homepage Design Refresh

Redesign the College Scorecard homepage to emphasize the search bar and include additional information above the external links about how to use the College Scorecard and the scope of its offerings

02

Emphasize Acceptance Rate

Move the Test Scores & Acceptance tab higher in the list of data sections on the School Profile (i.e., as the second option, behind Costs). Also consider displaying acceptance rate data near the top of the School Profile page.

03

Compare Schools Workflow

Improve the compare functionality button on school cards in the School Search results page. Make the Add to Compare button in the School Profile more prominent and improve the design of the Compare Tray, so that is more apparent to users.

04

Plain Language Glossary Feature

Create a plain language glossary and definitions that are more accessible to high school students and parents. Use plain language for key metrics on the consumer website and create plain language tooltips. Rename the current “Glossary” to Data Definitions.

Homepage Redesign

Key goals:

Keep users on the College Scorecard website instead of clicking out of the site, into the external resource links
Emphasize the search bar to stand out more
Explain the features of the Scorecard site

Key changes:

Added buttons for common searches like Schools Near Me, Most People Get In, and Most People Graduate to get users off the home page and into the search part of the site
Explanation of how to add schools to Compare
Callouts of data that is unique to the College Scorecard

Additional homepage content improved SEO and helped users understand site features

Callout of government connection to increase trust in the data and site

External links pushed to bottom of the page.

The links were still easy to access, but this small change improved bounce rate by keeping users on the Scorecard website.

Compare feature callout with an explanation of how to use it

Mobile Mockups

Testing & Iteration

After approval from the client, the team opted to conduct additional rounds of user testing with five high school students.

Sessions were conducted virtually via Zoom and lasted approximately 30 minutes each, comparing the original homepage with a mockup of the redesigned page.

OUTCOME

Participants had overall positive reactions to the redesigned College Scorecard homepage and preferred the redesigned option over the existing version of the homepage. I observed and documented:

Improved user flow when context was added about compare feature
Preference for the redesigned homepage because of the addition of images and explanations of the site’s features
Confusion about the “Most People Get In” button
Inclination to use the “Schools Near Me” button

Based on findings, I refined UI components, removing the “Most People Get In” button, with the option to add additional quick search buttons as more engagement data becomes available.

Launch

The redesigned homepage was launched in January 2025.

Outcome & Impact

USER EXPERIENCE IMPROVEMENTS