Rasmussen

A new website for Rasmussen University, built for working adults deciding whether to go back to school. Answers first.

Leading with AI

Rasmussen University offers more than 60 career-focused programs across 19 campuses and online. Its students are working adults, fitting school around a job, a family and everything else.

They don’t come to browse. They come with questions they’ve carried for years. What will it cost? Do my old credits count? Can I really do this? Most university sites make people dig for the answers. This one turns that around: answer first, ask second.

I was lead designer and lead front-end developer, from strategy to the last line of code: four page templates and a system of 85 documented blocks that Rasmussen’s marketing team assembles in Sitefinity to build every page that comes next.

I also led Rasmussen’s first steps into AI, on both sides of the screen: the AI-powered search visitors use, and the AI tooling the team now builds with.

  • UX Strategy
  • Interface Design
  • Design System
  • Accessibility
  • Front-End Build
  • AI Product & Tooling
  • Sitefinity CMS

The Homepage, Top to Bottom

Rasmussen’s deep green and gold, given room to breathe. Every section answers something before it asks for anything, from AI-powered search and the Degree Finder to a graduate’s story. And every section is a block the team can reuse anywhere.

  1. 01Hero
  2. 02Grant Offer
  3. 03Ways to Learn
  4. 04Degree Finder
  5. 05Request Info
  6. 06Areas of Study
  7. 07Why Rasmussen
  8. 08Testimonial
  9. 09FAQ
  10. 10Articles
  11. 11Footer
The full Rasmussen homepage, top to bottom: the AI question hero, a grant offer, ways to learn, the Degree Finder, a two-step request for information, eight schools of study, proof points, a student’s story, frequently asked questions, articles, and a closing invitation to apply above the footer.

What should I study?

A Front Door That Listens

Under the headline sits AI-powered search. Visitors type what’s on their mind, the way they’d put it to a friend, and get a straight answer in seconds.

It’s Rasmussen’s first customer-facing AI. Every answer is labelled as AI and ends in a next step: talk with admissions, or keep exploring on your own.

Is there a campus near me?

One Finder, Two Views

More than 60 programs, filtered by area of study, level and format. Switch to Campus and the list becomes a map, so near me and online are two views of the same search.

I’m an LPN. How fast can I become an RN?

One Template, Every Program

Shown here as Practical Nursing. Every program page runs in the order a decision does: where it leads, what you’ll study, what it costs, how to start. The career ladder answers the LPN-to-RN question up front.

  1. 01Hero
  2. 02Overview
  3. 03Outcomes
  4. 04Career Ladder
  5. 05Curriculum
  6. 06Request Info
  7. 07Tuition & Aid
  8. 08Testimonial
  9. 09Admission
  10. 10Campus Map
  11. 11FAQ
  12. 12Related Programs
  13. 13Accreditation
  14. 14Footer
The full Practical Nursing program page, top to bottom: the hero with its claims and start dates, a program overview, outcomes, the career ladder from LPN to RN and beyond, the curriculum, a request for information, tuition and ways to pay, a graduate’s video story, admission requirements, an information session, a campus map, frequently asked questions, a student quote, related programs, a closing invitation to apply, accreditation and the footer.

What will I actually study?

The Whole Curriculum, In Place

Signature courses lead. View all opens every course in the program without leaving the page, and any course opens with its description, credits and prerequisites.

The full list is grouped the way it counts toward the diploma, general education then core, with the credits beside every course.

What will it actually cost me?

See Where Every Dollar Goes

The calculator starts at the full sticker price, then shows transfer credits, test-outs and employer benefits taking it down to a real number. Old credits count, and here you can see exactly how much.

And for the team behind it

One System, Every Page

Every section on every page comes from one shared library, documented with when to use it and why. Rasmussen’s marketing team builds new pages in Sitefinity from parts that already work, without starting from a blank page.

The same documentation makes the library readable to AI tools. With each block’s purpose, rules and code written down, the team uses AI to draft, build and check new pages against the system, which cuts the time from request to working page.

4Page templates, from homepage to campus
85Block variants across 40 families
87Sass components, built atom up
1Token file behind every color

Every block ships accessible by default, with named landmarks, a clean heading order, managed focus and a calm fallback for reduced motion.

Did it work?

Answers That Convert

Answering first was a bet: people who get straight answers are readier to take the next step. The LPN program page, rebuilt on the new program template, was measured on exactly that, and the bet paid off.

LPN program page on the new program template. First Friday to Sunday of November, after the redesign, compared with the first Friday to Sunday of October.

Behind every visit is someone wondering, “Can I really do this?” Every page is built to answer yes, and here’s how.