Assessing the Usability of an Online New Student Orientation

Information that an institution’s website can provide ranges from the admissions process to online registration to graduation. The Admissions Office at Kauai Community College (KCC), for example, has a website full of important information that aims to support students through the enrollment process. However, there have been numerous complaints that the website is too text heavy and difficult to navigate. As a result, I developed and designed an online student orientation website for new incoming KCC students. The design and development of the website focused on simplifying information and delivering that information through short text, instructional videos and downloadable documents. The purpose of this usability study is to assess the content, navigation and student satisfaction of the online new student orientation website for students at KCC. Two rounds of the usability study was conducted with three participants of different educational statues in each. As part of the study, participants completed the online orientation from beginning to end, and all were given the same tasks to complete. A post-study survey was also administered to participants upon completion of the study. With proper adjustments and modifications made to the website after each round, the results revealed an increase in the quality and usability of the online orientation.