Program Finder connects students in California K-12 schools to community college career pathways, while also providing college faculty and employers with a quick and easy way to find related programs and make important connections for recruitment.
Product Design, UI, WebOne platform, two audiences
Due to the fact that we were on a state grant budget, we couldn’t afford two separate sides of the platform - one for students and one for community college recruiters. We had to work with the client to establish a primary and secondary audience. Student success and education are the reasons educators are in their line of work, so the student audience became our primary focus with regards to experience and visual design treatments. College recruiters would still be able to use the tool for their own needs, but the look, feel, and tone was not directed primarily toward them.
Connecting students to career paths
Students in California can search for or explore career categories to find programs that interest them at colleges all over the state. With 1,181 school districts and 296,202 K-12 schools in the state of California, it can be overwhelming for students to find a path forward after high school. A lean experience, attractive interface, and interactive map offers the student audience a quick and engaging way to explore careers and land on Community College program websites where they can learn more, reach out to a program recruiter, or apply right then and there.
Connecting college recruiters to the right students
With 1,181 school districts and 296,202 K-12 schools in the state of California, college program recruiters also have their challenges connecting with the right students that are interested in the programs that they offer. A similar lean experience is offered to college recruiters with the ability to toggle the program map within an industry to an “administrator” view. From there, they can locate and connect directly with K-12 schools that have high school programs that align with their college program, and those high school students can continue their interests and exploration within the industries they’ve already identified.
Driven by data
To make it all happen behind the scenes, the career industry categories in the platform are matched to programs in the California community college system through a database-driven crosswalk that our team of engineers developed.
