By Student Communications Services
At UBC, improving the student experience is at the heart of what we do. Recently, Student Communications Services (SCS)—a team within the Vice President, Students office (VPSO)—migrated students.ubc.ca, to a modern, secure platform. This website is a key central resource for all students on the Vancouver campus.
This project not only addressed critical technical needs but also aligned with our student-first communications strategy, reinforcing our commitment to helping students seamlessly navigate the opportunities and resources UBC has to offer. The result is a more streamlined, accessible, and impactful digital experience for our student community.
Prompted by the current platform, Drupal 7, reaching end of life, the migration significantly reduces cybersecurity risks, saves $92,000 annually in hosting and maintenance costs, and establishes a more stable foundation for future development.
What is students.ubc.ca?
With over 1,000 pages and 14 million annual page views, students.ubc.ca is a go-to for students looking for information about services, programs, opportunities, and resources offered by 17 units across the VP, Students portfolio:
- Student Affairs
- VPSO
- Student Health & Wellbeing
- Career Centre
- Enrolment Services (in the VP, Academic portfolio)
SCS collaborates closely with these student service teams, UBC Okanagan, and faculty communicators to make sure the site reflects the needs of our diverse student body while delivering an integrated experience.
What’s new?
The redesign has been guided by extensive research and focuses on creating a unified, accessible, student-first digital experience.
Key updates:
- Improved navigation: intuitive menus to help students find what they need faster.
- Higher accessibility standards: the site meets WCAG AA accessibility standards.
- Refreshed visuals: expanded and strategic use of illustrations, photos, and design elements for a vibrant, inclusive experience.
- Student Design System: a custom, component-based design system tailored to UBC students ensures consistency and accessibility across the platform.
While this initial migration prioritized security and stability, the platform is built to evolve. We will continue to iterate, adding new features and functionality over time.
Lessons learned
The journey to modernize students.ubc.ca taught us important lessons that will shape future projects and the evolution of the site over time:
- Planning ahead: Allocating time to align resources and explore options ensured a smooth transition, helping us mitigate risks and deliver a scalable platform for students.
- Collaboration matters: Partnering with stakeholders across campus has helped us align with efforts across campus and build on diverse input.
- Data-driven decisions: User research, student feedback, and analytics played a critical role in shaping the redesign.
- Commitment to iteration: Ongoing improvements, particularly around accessibility and user experience, are critical to continue to meet the needs of students and the university. Since last year, we started adopting scrum methodology across the team, enabling us to take an agile approach to this project delivery.
Building for the future
The migration from Drupal to WordPress has given us the opportunity to position us to be more future-ready and better positioned to adapt to rapid technological advancements while staying aligned with the commitments outlined in the Student Strategic Plan.
With the support of the VP Students Strategic Initiatives Fund, we conducted extensive student research that informed critical foundational work, enabling us to refine and expand our approach. Building on years of progress with the Student Design System and user-centered design principles, this project marks an important step toward creating a more responsive, adaptable, and engaging digital environment that evolves with students’ needs.
Explore the new site
We invite staff and faculty to visit students.ubc.ca, explore the updates, and share your feedback using the form located at the bottom of the website. Your input will help us refine and improve this essential resource for students.