Team Reflection: Supporting Student Parents

Over the past year, the Innovation Hub worked in partnership with the Family Care Office to develop a mini-site for staff and faculty at the university to support student parents. In this blog, the Innovation Hub’s UI/UX team reflects upon learnings from working on the year-long mini-site project, emphasizing the ways their culture of collaboration have shaped the trajectory of the project.

Written by the UI/UX Team 

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Introduction 

Student parents are a large group at U of T with unique perspectives, often overlooked as an equity group. Over the past year, our UI/UX team at the Innovation Hub worked to design a mini-site that communicates the diverse needs of student parents to staff, faculty, and student leaders at U of T. The Supporting Student Parents mini-site brings previous Innovation Hub findings to life, based on a 2024 report about the Experiences of Students Who Are Also Parents. The site’s goal is to help members of the university community become more family-friendly in their day-to-day practices through simplified resources and information from the Family Care Office. The final product is a thoughtful one-stop-shop that equips staff, faculty, and student leaders at U of T with what they need to make organizational change within their areas. 

Throughout the project, our team gained valuable skills while working on a meaningful project within the U of T community. We learned how to prototype professional webpages that balance the needs of different populations to create a solution that was both practical and helpful. We developed better problem-solving skills by learning to adapt to technical constraints and shifting project requirements. We also exercised our ability to collaborate effectively, building on each other’s strengths to deepen our individual expertise and create something amazing as a team.

Rebecca: Working on this project was very fulfilling, and I gained many new experiences. It was great to learn how to bring the work of the Family Care Office and iHub together. Working with the team here, we could bounce ideas off each other, creating a collage of a design. 

As we built the mini-site, we were surprised at how diverse and complex the needs of student parents actually are. In the process, we gained a deeper understanding of the barriers student parents face, such as navigating university policies, finding childcare, and balancing academic commitments amidst their dual responsibilities. Through learning about the ways we can support student parents in their academic journeys, we were reminded of the importance of designing systems for diverse audiences that are both intuitive and empowering.  

We were also amazed at the extent to which teamwork really shaped the final outcome. Our initial ideas were largely transformed by team discussions, input from our partners, and collaborative design sessions. This process reinforced the importance of iteration and flexibility in our creative processes, and helped us realize that our best solutions emerged through continuous refinement, collaboration and communication.  

Empowering with Information 

Finding and accessing resources within a large institution can be difficult. Throughout the mini-site, we aim to make it easy for staff, faculty, and student leaders at the university to learn about the many ways they can design thoughtful spaces, host engaging events, and foster inclusive cultures by synthesizing helpful information into a convenient framework. We wish to recognize the dual responsibilities of student parents, and highlight the many forms that support can take. In doing so, we hope to empower leaders of all kinds to create impact within their circles. 

Lauren Law: One of the key challenges we addressed was making the site’s information not only accessible, but also actionable. We wanted staff and faculty to be able to feel empowered to take meaningful steps towards making U of T more family-friendly, rather than simply directing users to policies and guidelines. By structuring resources in a way that was intuitive and impact-driven, we aimed to shift away from passive learning and create something that users could actively engage with. 

A Culture of Collaboration 

Throughout the website build, our team was reminded of the value of collaboration. We’ve grown to appreciate the iterative nature of the design journey. Reflecting on our work thus far, some of our favourite moments were times when we could ideate and collaborate, navigating any challenges that arise as a team.  

Emma: One of the most fun parts of this project was when I got to collaborate with everyone in real-time, and see how we interpret things in different ways. Sometimes, the most rewarding parts were when we disagreed or saw things differently, because they were opportunities to understand different perspectives and explore options that I hadn’t considered before. 

Rebecca: We did a brainstorming activity with sticky notes for the information architecture of the website at the beginning of the project. It was really cool to see everyone come up with niche content for the site that I hadn’t even thought of. Now, seeing the website on WordPress, I’ve seen what our team is capable of creating together. 

By collaborating closely on this project, we’ve also developed our skills as designers. Through building prototypes, designing interactive cards, exploring new systems, and navigating technical challenges, we have been able to learn from each other in exciting ways. We are looking forward to bringing what we’ve learned into our future experiences. 

David: As a designer, I’ve learned to be proud of my work while also detaching myself from an intended end goal. Our projects go through so many different hands, and I’ve realized that it’s valuable to keep an open mind in celebrating each change throughout the process. 

Waves of Impact 

As a result of this project, there is an opportunity for widespread impact across the U of T community and beyond. The mini-site is designed to equip staff, faculty, student leaders with accessible information that aims to welcome student parents and their families, fostering a family-friendly culture across the community that can be enjoyed for years to come. Our resources aim to show that there are many ways for leaders at U of T to be champions of change! 

Lauren Law: I hope that the project impacts others, not only for users of the site, but also for other U of T stakeholders. Beyond supporting student parents, my goal for this project was to set a precedent for how design can be used to bridge communication gaps between administration and the wider university community. In doing so, I hope this project shows that digital experiences don’t have to be simply informational, but that they can be transformative tools that can inspire change in institutional practices.  

Growing as a Team

This project has been an enriching opportunity for each of us personally, professionally and academically. It helped us practice our UX design skills, collaboration, and communication. We learned to use empathy to expand our understanding, ask thoughtful questions, and lean on each other throughout challenges in the project. Through collaborating on this project, we built a strong community within our team and at the Innovation Hub built upon shared values and mutual support.

Ray: I’ve gained a lot of practical skills from building this website from scratch. I’ve learned lots about research and brainstorming in class, but had never used that before on a real project. This experience gave me practice for those skills, and I’m really excited to launch a website with my team to support the student parent population at U of T. 

Lauren Suna: Getting to work with a team for the first time, and truly getting to co-work, was unique for me and I took a lot from it. I now bring these skills into academic projects with my classmates. Our team is a fun collage of different experiences, personalities, and design experiences, and we really came together to create something cool. 

As a team, we’re so proud of our work this year. We are looking forward to sharing the Supporting Student Parents Mini-Site with the broader U of T community, and the ripple effect of positive change that can happen as a result. We invite readers to explore our work on the mini-site and learn more about resources from the Family Care Office.

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Contributors