ISRA Website

Project Overview

At Temple University’s CIS Department, the Independent Study registration process was entirely manual, relying on PDFs passed between students, professors, and advisors for approval. This led to confusion, lost files, and unnecessary delays.

To address these challenges, Professor Dominic Letarte commissioned ISRA (Independent Study Registration Application) — a web-based platform designed to digitize and streamline the process.

Timeline

One Year

My Role

UI/UX Designer / Software Developer

Collaboration

One team of five students

The Problem

Students interested in pursuing an independent study faced a slow and confusing process. They needed to consult an advisor, gain approval, then share research plans with a professor — all through multiple email threads and PDF forms.

For students without a clear research plan, collaborating with professors was often inefficient, and tracking approval progress was nearly impossible.
Without a centralized system, the entire experience felt disjointed and time-consuming for everyone involved.

A flow chart of the old registration process.

Pain Points:

  • No status visibility

  • Lost or incomplete forms

  • Time consuming approvals

  • No centralized platform

Project Goal

Our goal was to create a centralized digital system that simplifies Independent Study registration for students while reducing the administrative workload for faculty.

The new system would:

  • Eliminate the need for manual PDF sharing

  • Provide real-time status tracking

  • Streamline approval workflows

  • Improve visibility for both students and administrators

Design Process

Before designing, my team and I worked closely with our client to fully understand the existing workflow and its pain points.

Through interviews and process mapping, we identified the system’s main user groups — students, professors, and administrators — and outlined the core functionalities needed for efficiency and transparency.

Our research helped define key system requirements:

  • Real-time tracking of applications

  • Admin dashboard with filters and sorting

  • Centralized list of all submissions

  • Automated email updates

Key Design Features

Feature 1 - Admin Dashboard

Provides a dashboard overview of all student submissions with real-time status updates.

Feature 2 - Application Management

Admins can approve, reject, or update student requests directly within the interface.

Enables easy editing and previewing of automated emails for consistency and professionalism.

Feature 3 - Email Management

Allows adding and managing administrator accounts seamlessly.

Feature 4 - Admin Settings

Final Design

Home Page UI

Admin Dashboard UI

Email Template UI

Admin Registration View UI

Admin Add Admins UI

Add Admin Information UI

Solution and Results

Although our design wasn’t implemented at the school, through research and iterative design, we delivered a streamlined web system that transformed the Independent Study registration process. Users who have tested our website described ISRA as “faster, more organized, and much easier to navigate.”

If Implemented ISRA would have:

  • Reduced turnaround time for approvals

  • Improved communication between students and faculty

  • Increased transparency with status tracking

  • Simplified workflow for administrators

Key Takeaways

This project taught me the importance of aligning digital systems with real-world academic workflows. By focusing on user needs and involving stakeholders early, we created a solution that improved both efficiency and satisfaction for students and faculty.