Path@Penn
Timeline
Spring 2024
Role
Product Designer
Team
Just me!
tools
Figma
Context
Every semester starts on Path@Penn
Path@Penn is the university’s central portal for academic planning and registration. Every student touches it heavily while planning classes and lightly throughout the semester for transcripts and degree audits.
The problem
It’s not just picking classes, it’s fitting them together
There were a lot of issues with the current legacy system.
Buried in clutter, drowned in data
Dense course details and cluttered layouts make even simple actions overwhelming.
Making decisions in the dark
Important insights, like professor ratings and course workload, live elsewhere.
There’s a cart for every “what-if”
Testing schedules means creating multiple carts; there’s no safe “what-if” sandbox to compare schedules side-by-side.
key insights
The biggest friction in the flow is assembling the schedule
I mapped the student journey to understand where decisions happen, where time is wasted, and why students lose confidence.
key insights
So, so, so many tabs for one schedule
Biggest friction hits in Finding courses → Evaluating fit → Composing the schedule because degree requirements, course insights, and each cart never share one view—every what-if becomes extra work.
solution
The schedule playground
A safe, side-by-side sandbox where students can test different course combinations, compare schedules instantly, and make confident decisions, without juggling multiple carts or losing work.
solution
Know exactly what you’re submitting
No second guessing: fine-tune submission details, set up alternate schedules as backups, and receive clear confirmation so you know your registration went through.
Design Decisions
Allowing users to go back with confidence
Users can scroll back through their search and schedule history. This makes it easy to revisit past options, undo mistakes, and avoid redoing the same work.
No more endless searching, filter for the class you want
Users can quickly filter by requirements, time, and availability to zero in on the exact class they need without scrolling through pages of irrelevant options.
Get insights that actually matter into the courses
Beyond basic course info, students see real insights on workload, difficulty, and instructor quality, plus a smart summary of how each choice impacts their overall schedule.
Introducing scannable descriptions
The current tool treated everything the same, with no visual cues to guide attention. I introduced color-coded “Jolly Rancher” tags to create hierarchy, making dense information easier to scan and sort.
Wanna see more?
I’m happy to chat more about my process over a call. Reach out to me at emmiwu[at]sas[dot]upenn[dot]edu !