Time: April 10, 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm
Speakers: Courtney Fleeger
Neurodiversity brings unique perspectives and needs to digital experiences. This session explores how we can support these users through inclusive design strategies grounded in research. Learn how to apply cognitive-friendly design patterns and create interfaces that reduce friction and foster engagement. Whether you’re new to accessibility or deep in inclusive design, you’ll leave with actionable insights to make your work more empathetic and effective.
Time: April 10, 9:45 am – 10:45 am
Speakers: Meenal Dobariya
Micro-interactions—such as form validation, filter panels, status updates, and feedback messages—play an important role in how users experience digital systems. When designed thoughtfully, they improve clarity and usability; when overlooked, they can create accessibility barriers.
In this session, Meenal Dobariya, a Usability and Accessibility Specialist at the University of Illinois, will share examples of accessible and inaccessible micro-interactions using design prototypes from enterprise university systems. Attendees will learn how small design decisions can significantly affect accessibility and when it is helpful to involve an accessibility specialist in the design process.
Participants will leave with practical tips and a simple checklist they can apply when designing or reviewing digital interfaces.
Time: April 9, 9:45 am – 10:45 am
Speakers: Beth Carron and Shaun Spence
Higher ed teams have been trying to implement and refine traditional SEO methods for years, but with AI-driven search changing how students find information, it’s time to shift focus. This session will take time to break down what’s changing, what still works, and how existing SEO techniques can be refined to make university content more discoverable for AI. Attendees will walk away with practical tips for using authority signals, video, and social proof, and focusing on content that directly influences enrollment decisions.
Time: April 10, 9:45 am – 10:45 am
Speakers: Rachel Berry
In December 2024, the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering dropped what became the university’s first truly viral video. With fewer than 1,000 Instagram followers at the time, the ME 370 Inverted Crawlers reel rocketed to the top, the second most-watched reel ever across all university and athletics accounts. See how a spotlight on our undergraduate course, Mechanical Design I, turned into a viral sensation, fueled explosive organic growth, and gave us a powerful platform to showcase our programs to a global audience.
Time: April 10, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Speakers: Mikael Arvola
Our new standards and guidelines for developing web applications at the Graduate College. We’ll talk about system-level architecture as well as design choices for individual parts, and the reasoning behind each. The whole stack from server to user interface will be covered. While most of the presentation is not specific to individual technologies, examples are from our applications using SQL Server, .NET Core C#, and Vue.js.
Time: April 10, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Speakers: Matthew Luken
Design plays a critical role in digital accessibility. This team can help reduce 67% percent of defects & violations. Join us to learn best practices that all designers – UX, UI, Content, UX Researchers, and Graphic Designers – should be implementing to ensure their designs are as accessible as they can be prior to development.
Time: April 10, 2:45 pm – 3:45 pm
Speakers: Junaid Majaz
This presentation investigates existing disparities in online education by gaining a deeper understanding of how students interact with virtual spaces and how new tools can be designed to enhance learning experience by understanding the needs of the audience. By identifying these gaps, his research seeks to: Create frameworks that improve the sense of belonging and engagement for all students. Prepare the next generation of teachers to effectively utilize emerging technologies and utilize design and technology to make high-quality education more accessible to a global audience.
Time: April 10, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Speakers: Cassidy Marcum, Charlotte (Peloquin) Voznyuk
Did you know that the average person scrolls through 300 feet of content on their phone every day… about the height of the Statue of Liberty? Good design isn’t just decoration, it’s essential for standing out in an oversaturated digital landscape. This session will explore how thoughtful design choices in social media and digital ads can capture attention and extend your brand’s reach and impact. Through examples of scroll-stopping campaigns, practical design strategies, and our social media tips and tricks, you’ll leave with actionable tools to design content that stands out and connects with your audiences.
Time: April 10, 1:30 pm – 2:30 pm
Speakers: Kate McGowan
AI-driven search, from LLMs like ChatGPT and Perplexity to Google AI Mode, is reshaping how consumers discover brands, engage with website content, and convert. As search engines and generative models surface answers directly, institutions face declining brand visibility, fewer site visits, and mounting pressure on each visit to convert.In this session, we’ll show you how to adapt. You’ll learn how to leverage Google Analytics and other data platforms to measure the impact of AI search on your traffic and brand discovery, and how to interpret shifting audience behaviors. We’ll discuss strategies to optimize your website for the future of search and a compressed enrollment funnel that’s more difficult to track and attribute. Finally, we’ll share tips for future-proofing your content strategy to ensure your institution remains visible, relevant, and competitive in the era of AI search.
Time: April 10, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm
Speakers: Angelica Mennella
This presentation will cover how to begin implementation of SEO (search engine optimization) for web marketing. I’ll explain key concepts for on-page SEO such as page structure, header tags, meta descriptions, and keyword research. I will also explain the technical concepts of off-page SEO, such as fixing/redirecting broken links/backlinks, making sure pages are encrypted, the importance of lining out to trusted websites, and social media. I’ll go into detail about conducting keyword research especially for people who may not have access to SEO plugins. This will include understanding audience and goals, brainstorming seed keywords, analyzing keyword metrics, conducting a competitor analysis, grouping and prioritizing keywords, and mapping keywords to content.