Introduction Course outlines are instrumental to a student's success in post-secondary education. We argue that there are fundamental issues with the current state of course outlines at McMaster University. As a result, students often miss important information. To address these issues, we created scannable visual course outlines using UI/UX design principles that aimed to reduce the time students spend finding specific information and to increase comprehension for each specific component of the course outline.

Methods Through a single-blind interventional randomised control trial, we explored differences between the standard and visual course outline in terms of speed and comprehension among McMaster students. We also captured key perceptions of each course outline as described by the students through a thematic analysis. 

Results Participants in the intervention group (n = 84) found that the visual course outline was quicker to locate all components, easier to understand, and quicker to understand than the control group (n = 91) that received the standard course outline (all p < 0.05). The intervention group found the visual course outline more appealing and expressed they were more likely to refer back to it during a semester (all p < 0.05). The intervention group also had more positive sentiments toward the visual course outline than the control group had toward the standard.

Conclusions Visual course outlines help increase knowledge synthesis, understanding, and perceptions of the course content. We recommend that other faculties at McMaster University and other universities adopt visual course outlines to further support student learning.