Kettering University: Accessibility-Minded Redesign

Project Goals 

Kettering University faced several difficulties. For starters, its website content was not fully accessible, leading to a greater risk of lawsuits that could jeopardize the university’s reputation. Audiences like prospective students had trouble finding the information they sought such as program options and a clear understanding of content hierarchies as changes over time made the site experience less intuitive. 

For content editors, the site lacked flexible tools to create new pages or structure to support content goals such as improving student engagement with the content and updating meta tags to optimize for SEO. The mobile experience was less than optimal and created opportunities for navigation that could better cater to the experience on a variety of devices.

With these factors weighing on the marketing team and stakeholders, it became apparent a newly refreshed, organized site would better fulfill the needs of users and content editors, as well as reduce risks from accessibility lawsuits. 

Results

Mediacurrent's Approach 

Migration from Drupal 7 to Drupal 9, as well as improvements to accessibility, design, and hosting, made Kettering University’s website more modern and user-friendly.

Following a UX audit as part of the discovery process with the Kettering team, Mediacurrent provided high-fidelity wireframes, prototypes, and a design system that works with our component-based development approach. The design system also incorporated an accessible color palette, iconography, strong typography, and content strategy. A functional specification acted as a north star for the development.

Filtered Search for Prospective Students

Deemed a huge win for the project by the stakeholders, the implementation of Program Finder tool allows prospective students interested in majors and specialties at Kettering to easily filter through departments and areas of study to find the program that suits their passions.

Elevated Accessibility

Prior to launching the new site, the U.S. Department of Education had flagged accessibility concerns with Kettering University. Mediacurrent used that feedback, as well as a thorough accessibility audit of the site, to address issues on the D7 site and ensure the D8 site met or exceeded expectations. Accessibility remains a cornerstone of the work we provide through our support for Kettering.

Mediacurrent quickly addressed accessibility issues that had been flagged as concerns from the US Department of Education. Whether it is color contrast issues, font size, or keyboard accessibility, the team is ensuring we can deploy new content and pages that meet or exceed accessibility standards.

- Donna Wicks, Web Strategist, Kettering University

UX Design and Content Tools 

In addition to a design focused on integrating the stakeholders’ goals with user experience principles, Mediacurrent’s development team went above and beyond integrating functionality to benefit the content editors and site users.

Final Thoughts 

Thanks to Pantheon’s reliable service, Kettering University can rest easy knowing their hosting solution means fewer interruptions. With a focus on results and a strong partnership, Kettering University and Mediacurrent intend to continue engaging with each other through support services focused on an iterative approach to the continued success of the Drupal 9 site.