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• Table of contents

Immigrants Rising 💼

Immigrants Rising is a non-profit based in San Francisco, dedicated to supporting undocumented students in their education and careers. They offer three key services: 1) the California In-State Tuition Tool, 2) the Mental Health Connector, and 3) Support Groups, along with 50+ resources on topics like education, entrepreneurship, law & policy, mental health, and art & empowerment.

Project Objective 🌟

The California In-State Tuition Tool helps students determine their eligibility for in-state tuition, including undocumented students and others who may not initially qualify through standard residency requirements. The client wanted to improve usability and engagement to ensure students could easily navigate the tool and understand their options. We began with user testing to identify areas for improvement, then redesigned the form to enhance clarity, accessibility, and ease of navigation. In addition to calculating eligibility, the tool now provides clear guidance on next steps for students who do not qualify, helping them explore alternative pathways. After refining the interface, we passed the final wireframes to the client for development, resulting in a more user-friendly and supportive resource for all students.

Here’s what we were working with before:

A peek into what we made:

Project Demo Video 🎥

CISTT Product Demo.mp4

Check out our project here! 🚀

Process 💭

Project Scope 🔎

Connecting with our clients

In our initial meetings, we learned about Immigrants Rising's background, mission, and project goals to understand the product we were designing for. The client informed us that they intended to focus on creating a user-friendly and intuitive experience. Through these conversations, we identified key priorities for the eligibility tool redesign:

1. Simplify the user journey—The previous iterations of the form were long and dense in content, potentially leading to high drop-off rates.
2. Streamline the development process—by focusing on a component-based design system, ensuring a developer-friendly UI that integrates seamlessly into their existing tech stack.
3. Enhance accessibility—designing an interface that meets WCAG and WAI-ARIA standards to ensure usability for all students, including those with disabilities.
4. Ensure clear next steps—many students who don’t qualify struggle to understand how to become eligible, necessitating a step-by-step guide integrated into the tool.