Thoughts on UVLink: A Student Interview

To help me get a better idea on how UVU students use UVLink, I interviewed UVU student, Clint. From this interview I wanted to learn why he uses UVLink, likes and dislikes of UVLink, and suggestions on how to make UVLink better.

Why do students use UVLink?

Clint said the main reason he uses UVLink is because you have to use it to do anything at UVU. UVLink has all the tools needed to be successful at school. The main features Clint uses are, registering for classes and to get his class schedule. Clint also uses UVLink as a gateway to other important programs needed as a UVU student. He uses UVLink to access canvas and as Clint put it, “The best part of UVLink, Wolverine Track.”

Likes and Dislikes of UVLink.

Clint then told me of his likes and dislikes of UVLink. As I mentioned before, Clint’s favorite part is Wolverine Track. He uses Wolverine Track to help him register for classes. He is able to quickly see what classes he needs to take and can click on one to see what sections are available. Clint said without Wolverine Track it would be a lot harder to register.

I then asked Clint if he had ever used the new Wizard Scheduling Tool, UVLink just added this past registration season. Clint said he did use it, and loves it. He said it makes registering even easier now because he can just get the classes he needs from Wolverine Track then put it in the wizard scheduler and then it will create a schedule for him. He said that he loves this new feature and wish that they had made it earlier.

Clint says that he likes how UVLink has all this information to help you with school but he never uses half the stuff in UVLink. He said that there is so much information there that it is hard to navigate through. And as Clint put it, “You shouldn't have to teach someone to navigate through a website.” He said his main dislike of UVLink is that it is old, clunky, and not user friendly.

Suggestions for UVLink.

Clint said the best way to make UVLink better is to give it a simpler design, and make it more intuitive to use. He said one thing that can help UVLink is to use a top navigation instead of tabs and a list of links on the side bar. Clint also suggested that they cut down the content to be just features that are needed, and get rid of the fluff. UVLink is a great feature they just need to update it to make it easier to use.

It was fun to interview Clint and get another perspective on UVLink. I got to learn the reasons why he uses UVLink and how he mostly uses UVLink for registering for classes. Clint’s favorite part of UVLink is Wolverine Track and his least favorite is that it’s outdated and old. I loved hearing his suggestions that to make UVLink better it just needs a new design and layout.