Full UX Design Process
Role: Researcher / Product Designer, team of 3
Timeframe: 6 months
Contributions: Research, synthesis, concept models, hypothesis testing, service blueprint, usability testing
Overview
Problem Space: Working students (those working 20+ hours) have unique characteristics and challenges when it comes to college persistence and completion.
Challenge: How might we support financially burdened working students—who are at higher risk of dropping out—by designing an emotionally sensitive funding experience that respects their autonomy and reduces the emotional weight of asking for help?
Outcome: The team developed and validated FundEDU, a donor-matching platform that connects financially struggling working students with aligned donors. The concept pivoted from peer-to-peer crowdfunding after research revealed deep emotional resistance to burdening one’s personal network. The final design reframed financial aid as a respectful partnership, grounded in empathy and student dignity.
RESEARCH
Methods: Interviewed 14 college students and 4 subject matter experts, gaining understanding into the breadth of issues experienced by students working their way through post-secondary education.
The reason I wasn’t able to go to UH was because last year my parents announced they were getting divorced. I was already on the path to go to UH. Obviously I had to pause because the main bread winner was leaving the house, so I had to step up.”
Edward
“You’re exhausted from work, but you know you have to stay up the next few hours doing assignments.”
Sahara
Everything that I had saved I had used to help support the kids with things that weren’t covered financially. So, I have nothing to go back to school with, but I need to make a decent living.
Savannah
Zooming Out
Working students must navigate unique challenges as they strive to balance academic responsibilities with employment and personal commitments.
Balancing responsibilities and stressors that influence persistence to graduation
They navigate obstacles such as time constraints by using their support network and staying motivated to persist to graduation.
Insights
01
Autonomy
Financially strained individuals feel a lack of control and autonomy in their lives.
02
Tradeoffs
Between the competing pressures of work and school, working students often feel that work takes precedence so that they can support themselves, leading to a higher dropout rate.
Hypothesis
Students will want to ask their personal community for financial support if we lower the pressure of “the ask.”
Solution
FundEDU
A crowdfunding and scholarships for higher-education
How it Works
Students looking for help with college costs find FundEDU and launch a funding campaign.
They receive any money raised, even if their campaign isn’t fully funded.
This helps reduce tuition costs, allowing students to work fewer hours and focus more on their studies.
Concept Validation
Conducted 8 interviews with working students using a digital mockup to facilitate discussions on how it might feel to create a college crowdfunding campaign and share it with their community.
Digital mockup of FundEDU landing page
Resultes
Students felt guilty asking their communities for money because many of them were also struggling financially.
pivot
Redesigned the platform to find potential financial donors and connect them with struggling students.
Low-fidelity service blueprint of FundEDU redesign including a “donor matching” service
Mid-fidelity ideal state service blueprint of FundEDU redesign including a “donor matching” service and movement of funds
Outcome
Where It Ended: Concept Validated, Not Developed
Although FundEDU did not move into development after the donor-matching pivot, the project uncovered critical insights about the emotional dynamics of financial support and the unique needs of working students. Our research and iterative design process demonstrated the importance of dignity, autonomy, and emotional safety in the user experience—especially when dealing with sensitive topics like financial hardship.
Reflections:
- FundEDU began with the goal of easing the financial burdens that working students face—burdens that directly threaten their ability to persist and complete their education.
- Our early concept, centered on community-based crowdfunding, revealed that while students value their networks, they don’t want to financially burden them.
- This insight led us to pivot toward a donor-matching model—shifting the emotional labor away from students and focusing instead on building bridges between donors and those working hard to stay in school.
- The project highlighted the importance of emotional nuance in UX design and the need to stay adaptable when real human stories challenge initial assumptions.