Redesigning the Online Learning Centre to Boost Engagement

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The Problem

Further Learning Group delivers distance learning in design and digital marketing across the UK, Ireland, and Australia. Students access an Online Learning Centre (OLC) for course content, submissions, and tutor support.

But challenges limited its effectiveness:

  • Onboarding confusion and lack of orientation

  • Overly academic language and inconsistent formats

  • Delays in progression due to tutor feedback wait times

  • Limited community interaction and unclear communication

The Group needed to improve tutor efficiency, raise progression rates by 10%, reduce support queries by 20%, and increase retention and satisfaction.

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The Idea

We collaborated to redesign the OLC with a focus on student and tutor needs:

  • Discovery and research phase: stakeholder engagement, data analysis, comparator review

  • Usability testing, interviews, and contextual studies with students and tutors

  • Insights shaped a plan around gamification, peer-to-peer learning, community building, and clearer onboarding

  • Interactive prototypes and usability testing refined the concepts

  • A comprehensive design system ensured consistency and scalability

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The Outcome

The redesigned OLC, launched in beta, has already delivered:

  • 40% reduction in email and phone queries (double the target)

  • Students completing courses 12.5% faster on average

  • Coursework quality improved, with rounds of feedback reduced from 3.4 to 2.2

The platform now fosters peer learning and community, while improving tutor efficiency and student experience, with ongoing optimisation planned into 2025.

40%

Decrease in email and phone queries

12.5%

Speed increase for student course completion

1.2

Reduction in rounds of tutor to student feedback

FAQs

  • What challenges did the old OLC create for students and tutors?

    Confusing onboarding, inconsistent formats, delayed feedback, and limited community interaction.

  • How did Ideas + Outcomes redesign the OLC?

    Through research, usability testing, and prototyping, with a focus on gamification, peer learning, and clearer onboarding.

  • What measurable results has the redesign achieved?

    A 40% reduction in queries, 12.5% faster course completion, and improved coursework quality with fewer feedback rounds.

  • How is the platform supporting long-term goals?

    It boosts engagement, retention, and tutor efficiency, with optimisation planned into 2025.

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