Athabasca University

The Client

Athabasca University is one of Canada’s largest universities, with more than 38,000 students and over 700 courses. Athabasca is an open university, meaning they "guarantee access to post-secondary learning to all who have the ability and desire." Their programs are delivered entirely through distance and online education, making high quality education accessible to all.

The Problem

Athabasca University’s distance-based curriculum makes their website an even more critical communication and recruitment tool. They face the all the typical challenges of a post secondary web channel: keeping up-to-date information about hundreds of courses, communicating complex admission and registration procedures, etc. – but they must also support thousands of students without a traditional classroom or professor.

The Solution

Yellow Pencil helped to rethink and redevelop the Athabasca website to communicate with prospective and current students in a more meaningful and personable way.

Discovery was an especially important part of this project. Our approach to discovery is simple: We talk to people (crazy, we know). We held workshops with Athabasca staff, students and stakeholders, researched best practices from across the globe, and tested our ideas on prospective students.

Our research, along with the Athabasca University communications plan, informed a strategic approach to design, architecture, wireframes, and templates. We built a series of templates, and helped the Athabasca IT staff roll them out in the Alfresco Content Management System. We built custom plug-ins, provided content management expertise, and ensured that the website met browser standards and accessibility guidelines.

The Results

The new AU website makes it easier than ever to learn about Athabasca University and start (or re-start) an education. The new site has garnered many accolades, including a Platinum MarCom Award, and has been applauded by students, staff, and stakeholders.