Despite a long-standing commitment to digital excellence, Alamo Colleges faced several critical challenges that hindered engagement and accessibility for both current and, more acutely, prospective students. Users across the board encountered significant difficulty reaching deeper site content, leading to frustration and a high bounce rate. Student engagement rates were a major concern, as their website struggled to capture the attention of this vital segment. The existing search experience was especially difficult to navigate, consistently failing to deliver relevant results.

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Furthermore, a substantial portion of Alamo's audience engaged with their digital properties from mobile devices, yet program pages and overall site layout were not optimally responsive. This led to persistent issues with mobile navigation and layout, with users reporting fonts that were too small and an overall Browse experience that felt intimidating and overwhelming. While current students found the navigation menu challenging, prospective students were more broadly affected by poor mobile design, which directly impacted their initial impression and ability to find crucial information.

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The website's content and design also contributed to the challenges. Both current and prospective students expressed a negative opinion of the homepage content and layout, often describing it as overwhelming with too much information and a disproportionate focus on events rather than core academic pathways. Simple but vital information, such as a phone number, was often difficult to locate. This combined digital friction led to lower conversion rates for prospective students and a less efficient information-gathering process for all users. Addressing these multifaceted concerns with targeted, incremental enhancements was crucial for Alamo Colleges to better serve its student base and achieve its mission goals related to prospective student enrollment and success.

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