Navigating Degrees with Confidence: A Learning Strategy for Stanford's First Degree Audit System
Project Details
Designed to support Stanford University’s staff and faculty in mastering My Academic Path (MAP), the university’s first central degree auditing system. The solution required an overarching learning strategy and a suite of training deliverables to support staff in learning the MAP system and guiding students through their degree progress.
Audience: University staff—Student Service Officers and advisors.
Responsibilities: Research, instructional design (ILT and self-paced courses), resource development, visual design, and collaboration with SMEs.
Tools Used: Articulate Rise, Camtasia, Canva, Illustrator, YouTube, Google Suite, Drupal, LMS
What It Looks Like
Self-Paced Online Course
Instructor-Led Materials
Just-In-Time Learning Support
Project Documentation
The Problem
In 2023, Stanford University launched My Academic Path (MAP), a central degree auditing system designed to give students, faculty, and advisors real-time insight into degree progress. However, staff tasked with supporting students in navigating MAP lacked a structured learning solution to understand and utilize the system effectively. Without proper training, staff risked inconsistent support and student confusion during critical academic decisions.
The Client
Stanford University’s Degree Audit Team spearheaded the MAP implementation and required a learning strategy to ensure university staff—Student Service Officers (SSOs) and advisors—could efficiently learn the system and confidently assist students.
Audience
Primary Audience:
University staff, including SSOs and advisors, responsible for interpreting degree audit reports, supporting students, and ensuring alignment with degree requirements.
Learner Characteristics:
Varied levels of technical expertise, from advanced to novice system users.
High interaction with students and faculty, requiring real-time system support knowledge.
A need for flexible learning options due to busy schedules and varying roles.
The Solution
Phase 1a: Instructor-Led Training (ILT)
Delivered three instructor-led training (ILT) courses via Zoom and in-person.
Focused on experiential and social learning with immediate feedback from SMEs.
Deliverables: Facilitation guide, slide deck, train-the-trainer workshops, supplemental resources.
Phase 1b: Just-In-Time Learning Support
Designed how-to guides, microlearning videos, and an intranet project page for on-demand support.
Phase 2: Self-Paced Online Learning
Transitioned to a scalable self-paced course built in Articulate Rise, replacing ILT.
Included interactive elements, assessments, and real-world scenarios.
Outcomes
Successfully trained over 100 staff during initial ILT sessions.
Developed accessible, scalable resources, ensuring long-term learning sustainability.
Established a clear evaluation strategy to adapt training materials based on user feedback.
My Role
As a Learning Experience Designer, I led the development and implementation of the learning strategy. My responsibilities included:
Collaborating with the Degree Audit Team and SMEs to identify learning needs.
Designing and delivering ILT materials, including facilitation guides, slide decks, and workshops.
Creating self-paced learning modules in Articulate Rise to scale the training program.
Developing just-in-time support resources, such as microlearning videos and how-to guides.
Utilizing user feedback to refine materials and ensure training effectiveness.
Tools
To bring this solution to life, I utilized the following tools:
Articulate Rise: For developing the self-paced online course.
Camtasia: For creating microlearning videos.
Canva & Illustrator: For designing engaging visual assets.
Google Suite: For collaboration and resource sharing.
Drupal: To build and manage the intranet project page.
LMS: For course delivery and tracking.