Case Study
The University of Melbourne’s Graduate Coursework Grade Conversion Eligibility Calculator
The Graduate Coursework Grade Conversion Eligibility Calculator provides international and domestic students to the University of Melbourne with a seamless way to convert their grades from various educational institutions and systems.
The Calculator helps both prospective students and the University admissions team in processing eligibility for postgraduate courses.
As a University first, the initiative is an integral part of the Admissions Transparency project, which commits the University to providing an enhanced student study experience and transparent admissions process. A globally recognised solution to an industry problem.
My role
Digital transformation solution lead
Design team lead
Prototyper
Content designer and writer
The results
Significant increase of the end-to-end journey in prospective student traffic to the University study application portal.
Engagements with the Calculator grew by 75% in 2024, with an increased quality of postgraduate study applications.
Web-based workflow automation design reduces the complex, time-consuming administration burden on the admissions team, with improved eligibility response times – from days to minutes.
Enhanced design of the University Study website has improved the undergraduate-to-postgraduate conversion student journey experience.
Designing the web-based workflow.
Why design a Grade Conversion Calculator?
Before the Calculator launched in 2023 there was a lack of transparency for students in understanding requirements, leading to many ineligible applications as they were unable to preassess scores required to be competitive for an offer.
The manual selection processes were inefficient and time-consuming, with inadequate utilisation of staff resources and long application turnaround times.
The data connections used in the calculator
What does the Calculator do?
Clear information on suitability for study at the University increases the proportion of high-quality applications, decreases the number of unsuitable applications, and enhances the applicant experience.
In addressing frequently asked questions, common misconceptions, eligibility options and the International Student Caps Response Activity, it aims to:
Assist students and staff in providing accurate score information for post-graduate courses.
Deter applicants who don’t meet the requirements.
Assist recruitment staff in targeted conversations to attract eligible applicants. For example, University agents in China and India shared the Calculator with prospective students in-situ in encouraging them to apply.
The targeted social media campaigns to attract eligible applicants through the calculator
What are the key features of the Calculator?
Global Coverage: The Calculator supports percentage and Grade Point Average-based systems from organisations worldwide, with over 24,000 educational institutions included in the database. International applicants can easily understand how their academic achievements align with requirements.
User Friendly: The solution features a simple interface, making it intuitive and straightforward to use. Applicants can input their grades and obtain an instant result.
Accuracy and Consistency: Employing a rigorous deep-learning algorithm, the Calculator ensures accurate and consistent grade conversion, maintaining integrity of the admissions process at every stage.
CRM and Marketing strategy: With more specific, segmented information available by applicant type, the Calculator enables the marketing team to introduce more targeted communications and social campaigns to service a wider student audience.
The calculator results screen.
Leading the design process
As the design team lead, I advocated for real data and content to shape the experience solution, helping us move forward quickly and focus on resolution in a visual and accessible manner.
I liaised with key members from the University's admissions team, focusing on iterative feedback sessions from the ultimate stakeholder – the potential postgraduate student.
Witnessing the problem first-hand
It was vital to experience the sheer complexity of the admissions process tasks from a grading perspective and identify key knowledge holders who could provide insights and design input throughout the project.
We identified required outcomes early by sitting down with the team to understand the issues.
Prototype, test, prototype, test and test again
Design artefacts – including process flow documents and clickable prototypes that visualise the key user scenarios and outcomes – were created early in the project to be continually tested and refined with stakeholders.
As a result, the project team focused on data integrity and real-time messaging outcome requirements from the beginning, so that real-life data and content continually shaped the solution.
The creation of clickable prototypes with real content in Figma
My process for this project
I drew up every possible case scenario in the prototype to ensure a smooth user journey. In mapping out every permutation, we could write the UX copy and iterate the resulting messaging in each version of the user-tested, clickable prototype.
By the end of the development phase the solution encapsulated each scenario requirement.
We tested the end-to-end user journey and each outcome screen and message with potential applicants, the admissions team, and verified with our stakeholders and knowledge leaders.
While this process consumed a significant portion of design and development time during the project phase, it streamlined the live implementation as the experience was signed off and approved during the development phase.
Mapping all the use case scenarios
Further enhancements
In 2025, with the potential threat of the Australian Government's proposed international student caps legislation, there was an urgency to enhance the Calculator to cater for the changing admissions landscape.
These included:
Tailoring the eligibility results for international students based on additional criteria, such as sponsorship status.
Implementing specific eligibility feedback for current University of Melbourne students.
Enhancing the overall undergraduate-to-postgraduate conversion student journey experience and design.
The project team reviewing early usage of the calculator post implementation
Usage statistics
2024 engagements to the calculator were 511,973 (up +75% versus 2023)
Since further enhancements launch (February 2025):
Sessions: up +12%
Bounce rate: 18.64% down -9.8%
Engagement rate: 81.4% up 2%
The project team discussing the implementation stage
Testimonials
“I had the pleasure of working with Alun on the Postgraduate Calculator project at University of Melbourne, where I served as the Senior Business Analyst and Alun was the UX Lead. Alun made a pivotal contribution that brought clarity and alignment across the entire project. By leveraging existing materials, he not only identified key customer journeys but also mapped them comprehensively from a user journey perspective. This work proved invaluable throughout the project lifecycle, forming the foundation for both requirements development and later test case design. Beyond his technical skill, Alun’s professionalism, responsiveness, and courteous manner made him an exceptional collaborator. Always a pleasure and looking forward to working with Alun again.”
“Alun’s demonstrable use-cases for the Postgraduate Calculator were a helpful touchstone for the whole team. They made it clear which data was needed for each scenario. Alun kept student usability front of mind and gently diverted us from muddying the interface with obscure edge cases. This kept the project focused and contributed to its success.”
“The launch of the Calculator provides an improved student experience, helps many staff in their roles across the University and assists in the overall strategy of improving admissions transparency for Future Students.”
“I wanted to thank everyone involved in the development of the Calculator, as it has been a collaborative effort across many staff and teams across SASS, Business Services and UC&M, and I know a lot of work has gone into this great piece of work.”