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Case study:
The University of Rochester's International Services Office (ISO) serves 4,000+ international students, families, and scholars from 130+ countries, navigating complex legal requirements like visa renewals and work permits. The website's structure made finding critical information nearly impossible, with students reporting they couldn't understand dense legal language or locate time-sensitive guidance.
This project involved a full rebuild and reorganization of the site from topic-oriented to population-oriented, translated compliance requirements into plain language and transformed a four-year stalled project into a launched solution.
My objective
Success meant making critical immigration information easily findable, translating complex legal requirements into understandable, actionable guidance and reducing the support burden on ISO staff from students and others who couldn’t find what they were looking for.
My team
Core Team: Project Manager & Content Strategist (me), Associate VP of Digital Strategy, 3 Subject Matter Experts (Immigration Advisors)
Key Partners: Vice Provost and Assistant, Immigration Attorneys, University Digital Services Team
My Role: Project manager, content strategist, UX researcher, stakeholder coordinator, content author
Voice & tone
Immigration mistakes can jeopardize someone's legal status, so the voice needed to be authoritative yet approachable, like a knowledgeable advisor who respects the stakes but doesn't intimidate.
The tone balanced clarity with empathy: direct and action-oriented for compliance requirements ("Before you start CPT work, get approval"), supportive during complex processes and consistently jargon-free to reduce anxiety around high-stakes decisions.
Project scope
9 months (project kickoff to launch)
Unblocked a 4-year stalled migration to modern WordPress template.
Content audit of 100+ existing pages with migration recommendations.
Information architecture redesign from topic-based to population-based navigation.
Rewriting and legal approval of all site content in plain language.
Coordination across the deaprtment staff, legal subject matter experts, and the University Digital Services team.
Development of content framework for future updates.
Opportunities
Prove population-based IA reduces navigation complexity for diverse audiences.
Establish plain language approach for legally sensitive content.
Create reusable content patterns for immigration guidance.
Reduce support burden through improved self-service information.
Build stakeholder alignment process to unblock future projects.
Set accessibility and mobile-first standards for university subsites.
Key metrics
50% reduction in clicks-to-information (from 4 average clicks to 2).
Bounce rate on legal pages decreased from 73% to 51% (vs. 42% university average).
Removed repetitive information and unused pages.
30% reduction in overall word count while improving comprehension.
100+ pages of rewritten, legally approved, launch-ready content delivered.
My process overview
1 - Understanding the problem and the audience
I analyzed site analytics to identify where people got stuck. The broken user journey was revealed in the top 3 most-visited pages:
Immigration document (Found through search engines. This was not available on the homepage or main site navigation.)
Homepage
Contact page (A clear sign users couldn't navigate to their answers so they contacted staff directly.)
Defined success metrics: reduced clicks-to-information, improved time-on-page for legal content, higher user satisfaction scores.
Conducted stakeholder interviews to understand their priorities and perspectives.
Completed a content audit and gap analysis.
Defined the content strategy and messaging framework overarching plan.
2 - Strategically redesigned information architecture
Based on my stakeholder interviews and analysis I changed navigation from topic-oriented ("Visa Information," "Employment") to population-oriented ("Students," "Visiting Scholars," "Internal Departments").
Structured content around how university audiences identify themselves, reducing cognitive load and supporting end-to-end journeys that span multiple topics.
Reduced navigation depth from 4 levels to 2, improving discoverability and reducing compliance risks from missed requirements.
Created complete sitemap and navigation structure for Digital Services implementation.
LEFT IMAGE: Original topic-based navigation
(4 levels deep)
RIGHT IMAGE: New population-based structure
(2 levels deep)
3 - Simplified legal information
Audited all existing content to identify jargon, passive voice and buried critical actions.
Partnered with immigration attorneys to ensure legal accuracy while applying federal plain language guidelines.
Developed messaging framework: shorter sentences, active voice, "you" statements, prioritizing critical information and clear calls-to-action.
Transformed every page to emphasize what users need to do, when, and what happens if they don't—turning compliance requirements into actionable guidance.
4 - Managing stakeholder alignment
Diagnosed why the project had been stalled for 4 years: no project management coordination between ISO staff, Digital Services, and legal experts; no UX skill set or clear success criteria.
Facilitated kickoff meeting to align on goals, scope, and what success would look like.
Created detailed project timeline with milestones tied to fall semester launch deadline.
Provided weekly updates to project stakeholders and biweekly updates to VP leadership.
Delivered WordPress-ready files and new information architecture that Digital Services could implement immediately.
5 - Content creation & legal review
Rewrote 100+ pages applying plain language principles while maintaining legal accuracy.
Worked iteratively with immigration advisors to ensure compliance requirements remained intact.
Developed editorial guidelines, establishing standards for future content updates.
Prepared all final deliverables for handoff to Digital Services: content audit with migration recommendations, complete rewritten content, and style guide.
6 - Launch & results
Site successfully launched 10 months after joining the project, meeting fall semester deadline.
Measured impact: 50% reduction in clicks-to-information, bounce rate on legal pages decreased from 73% to 51%, 30% reduction in word count with improved comprehension.
Student feedback validated the approach: "I understand what I need to do now."
5. Results & impact
Successfully unblocked and launched a 4-year stalled website migration, reaching 4,000+ international students, scholars, and employees representing 130+ countries.
Reduced average clicks-to-information by 50% (from 4 to 2 clicks) through population-based navigation redesign.
Improved comprehension and decreased bounce rates on critical legal pages from 73% to 51% by translating complex requirements into plain language.
Delivered 100+ pages of rewritten, legally approved, WordPress-ready content with 30% reduced word count.
Created reusable content patterns and style guide for maintaining clarity in future updates.
See the live site →
Feedback from the Associate Vice President for Digital Strategy:
"You've done a tremendous job getting us to this stage. It's been a great collaboration, and I've really enjoyed partnering with you."
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