The Usability of an Early College Online Resource

Early College is quickly becoming a popular option for high school students to simultaneously earn high school and college credit. However, for high school counselors looking for course information, tutorials and guides about the Early College program in Hawaiʻi; there is no centralized source of information to provide such resources. To address this need, an online instructional resource in the form of a website was created for high school counselors interested in Early College at the University of Hawaiʻi — West Oʻahu. A usability study was conducted to evaluate the website design for its ease of use, navigation, user satisfaction, and participant interest in the resource.

This session will discuss the usability study’s methods, participants, and results, emphasizing design implications, and subsequent website modifications. In terms of measures, the usability study used the System Usability Scale (SUS) and Design-oriented Evaluation of Perceived Usability (DEEP). Data from the study found the online instructional resource to be a highly valuable source of information, with functional accurate content, and easy to navigate. Participants also reported satisfaction with the online instructional resource. The results of the study suggested that the instructional resource was able to provide high school counselors with a single online source, which provided tutorials, instructions, and Early College course information to better help their students. The outcome of this study highlights the importance of implementing well designed online resources to serve Hawaiʻi’s school counselors. Future modifications may include reaching out to both parents and high school students.