Episode 80: Radka Newton, Jean Mutton, and Michael Doherty on Redesigning Higher Ed
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How can you transform higher education through human-centered design? How can you listen to people and gather insights that inform and inspire changes to programs and policies? What role can design play in helping institutions get real results to improve their student experience? We dive into these questions with the Radka Newton, Michael Doherty, and Jean Mutton, co-editors of the great book Transforming Higher Education with Human Centered Design.
In the traditional landscape of higher education, success is often viewed through the narrow lens of metrics: graduation rates, GPAs, and post-grad employment statistics. While these "destination" markers matter, they often ignore the "journey"—the lived experience of the student navigating the university machinery. In a recent episode of the Connected College Podcast, I sat down with three pioneers in the field—Radka, Michael, and Jean—to discuss how human-centered design is shifting the focus from systems to people.
Moving Beyond Top-Down Success Metrics
One of the biggest hurdles in higher education leadership is the tendency to define success from the top down. Michael, the world’s first professor of legal design, argues that we shouldn’t proceed based on assumptions. Success isn't a monolith; it’s a personal goal that varies from one student to another. For some, it’s gaining the confidence to lead; for others, it’s the agency to navigate complex societal systems.
Jean, an expert in service design, takes this a step further, noting that it isn’t up to administrators to define what a "win" looks like for a student. If a student finishes their degree feeling empowered and happy, even if they didn't land a "first-class" honors, that is a success. The goal of design is to ensure the university is built to help students achieve their individual ambitions, not just satisfy a league table.
Busting Silos with Service Design
Universities are notoriously complex. Jean famously describes them as "30 organizations that share a car park." This fragmentation creates silos that hinder student success. This is where human-centered design (HCD) becomes a transformative tool. By using methods like journey mapping and service blueprinting, institutions can give a voice to "backstage" staff—those in administration and IT—and connect their work to the "frontstage" student experience.
When you map out the student journey, everyone in the organization begins to see how their specific role impacts the whole. It’s a holistic approach that moves the needle from "efficiency for the sake of the system" to "effectiveness for the sake of the human."
Lived Experience is the New Data
A common critique of design thinking in academia is that it feels "fluffy" compared to hard statistical data. However, Radka points out that lived experience is data. Just as the health sector looks at what it feels like to be a patient, higher education must look at what it feels like to be a student.
Does a student feel "lazy" because they missed a lecture, or did they simply miss the only bus from their off-campus housing? When we acknowledge feelings and personal circumstances as valid data points, we can design better interventions. Michael’s work in legal design proves this: by humanizing communication and clarifying expectations, his law school saw a 10-to-12 point jump in student satisfaction, outperforming many high-reputation peers.
The Future of Co-Creation in Higher Ed
The future of higher education leadership lies in co-creation. We are moving away from a model where students are consulted as an afterthought and toward one where they are active agents in the design process. Radka highlights that design helps flatten hierarchies, allowing students to sit at the table as co-creators rather than just "customers" of a service.
As we face the challenges of AI, changing demographics, and evolving cultural norms, the "designerly" mindset—one that is open, vulnerable, and willing to listen—will be the most valuable asset a university leader can possess.
Conclusion: Be a Being, Not a Doing
Ultimately, human-centered design reminds us that universities are made of humans, for humans. By shifting our focus from "human doing" (the tasks and the rules) to "human being" (the emotions and the connections), we create institutions where students don't just graduate—they thrive.
Episode 80 Transcript
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Jean: it's not up to me to define student success. It's up to every individual student. To make sure that they've reached their own goals, whatever they may be.
Michael: for a lot of our students success is not just the destination. That the journey their experience and their time in higher education is is an important part of whether that's been a successful part of their life.
Radka: Universities are here for people, for the society, to create some intellectual debate. They are made of humans for humans, so don't be afraid to be a human.
Elliot Felix: I'm your host, Elliot Felix. I've helped more than a hundred colleges and universities change what they offer, how they operate, and how they're organized to enable student success. And if you're a leader in higher ed, and you think that the silos and separations get in the way of student success, then this podcast and my upcoming book, The Connected College, are for you. We're here to learn and work together to bust silos, question tradition, and forge partnerships so that students feel connected to their college, their community, their coursework and their careers.
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Elliot Felix: Radka, Jean and Michael, I'm so excited for today's conversation about the role that human-centered design can play in student success. Welcome.
Jean: Thank you. Good to be here.
Elliot Felix: I think a great way to get started is to hear how you all got started in higher ed.
Radka: For me, the journey in higher education started when I was 18. I've been a student and an educator in so many different contexts and cultures. That student experience has always been very close to my heart because of what I have personally gone through.
Michael: I'm an academic. I have the honor of being the first professor of legal design in the world. HE for me is about how education transforms people's lives. I'm the first member of my family who stayed in education beyond 16, and it transformed my life. It allows me to live according to values of respect and empathy.
Jean: I started in 1982 as an admin assistant at Brighton Polytechnic. I understood the machinery side of the university but was a long way from the students. I eventually led teams from admissions to graduation. When I discovered service design, everything fell into place.
Elliot Felix: Your work is all about putting people at the center and designing around them, not systems. Michael, how do you define student success?
Michael: We avoid top-down approaches. For each student, the version of success is different. They want agency, skills, and confidence. Radka mentioned that for a lot of students, success is the journey, not just the destination.
Radka: It’s the opportunity to become a rounded person and gain relational experience. Our students are changing—we have more mature students and commuters. We need to acknowledge their personal journeys outside the classroom.
Jean: Every student wants something different. I remember a student who was happy with a lower grade because he had a fantastic time as rugby captain. We shouldn't assume we know their ambitions.
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Elliot Felix: What role can design play in creating better journeys?
Jean: A service is something that helps someone to do something. Universities are large, complex silos. Tools like journey mapping or service blueprints give a voice to everyone in the organization and help them understand their role in the student experience.
Michael: I moved to a law school where student positivity was down despite numbers being up. I took a design approach: a service safari. I trailed after students to see what classes and virtual environments were like from their perspective. We looked at the tone of communications, which was too distant. By focusing on the student perspective, we turned student positivity around and became a top research law school for student experience.
Elliot Felix: Michael, what exactly is "legal design"?
Michael: It’s applying design to legal products like contracts, services like legal advice, and systems like the courts. It’s about making law accessible for ordinary people.
Elliot Felix: What do you say to critics who think this is just "post-its on a whiteboard"?
Radka: Lived experience is data. In the UK, we’ve learned from the health sector. You can’t argue with the feeling of being a patient. In HE, we need to know what it feels like to miss a bus and be branded a "lazy student." That analogy switches people on.
Michael: The language of design—like "fail fast"—can turn off senior people. We need to focus on the fact that this works and delivers positive, practical outcomes.
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Jean: My experience is that if you can get a small project going that demonstrates value, even the critics get interested. There isn't enough literature on how design works at a micro level in HE, which is why we created our anthology.
Elliot Felix: How is the landscape changing with things like AI and demographics?
Radka: Higher ed recognizes students need to be in the center, but they need mechanisms to do it. Design levels up the voices of stakeholders. It helps change the structure and power hierarchy so students are represented around the table. In the UK, we see students truly involved as co-creators, not just an afterthought.
Elliot Felix: In our national survey, "having a say" is often the lowest-rated dimension. Design is a great tool to change that.
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Elliot Felix: What is your prescription for institutions to use HCD?
Jean: Build capacity with everyone—professional services and academics. Develop an open mindset, leave your ideas at the door, and be prepared to listen and learn. That vulnerability helps you face change.
Michael: Design is pragmatic and situated. Start by asking students the questions we don't normally ask: What do you tell your family about this program? What was your proudest moment? Just pick up a toolkit and start mixing it into your practice—prototyping, journey mapping, whatever. Learning happens by doing.
Radka: Universities are made of humans for humans. Don't be afraid to be human. Let’s glorify "human being" rather than "human doing." It is okay to have feelings and acknowledge them as data.
Elliot Felix: Great perspectives. Thank you all for the insights from your book, Transforming Education with Human-Centered Design.