Beyond 12 Cohorts

Project Description

B12 Cohorts was a service blueprint we proposed to address the issue around one third of students likely to drop out of college. We focused on first-gen college students, looked at what contributed to their college frustrations, and proposed interventions to help new students set up for success before they start the first day.

Problem

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, nearly one-third of college students drop out. Out of those, 40% percent are first-generation students

Insights

For our prototype testing, we took our participants through a simulated cohort experience in a virtual walkthrough of the main campus. We spoke to students who had never been on campus before and asked them to rate their confidence level in accessing a variety of student resources, from 1- being not at all confident to five being very confident. The average initial score of this confidence level before the walkthrough was a 2.3 out of 5. NEXTAfter completing the walkthrough, our participants’s average confidence level rose to 4.6 in their ability to access college resources. Not only that, the participants we tested with expressed an overall excitement for school and displayed curiosity to discover more about SMC. Our participants expressed an interest in having information on hand before the walkthrough so they could have a tool to reference while taking the guided tour. By fostering an environment where we allow students to be vulnerable and openly ask questions together, we hope to minimize the stigma associated with not knowing the right question to ask. This sort of low risk, high reward environment will enable students to seek out the tools they need to succeed without the fear of being judged.

Solutions

We proposed early outreaches be made to students and introduce those whose backgrounds are similar in a cohort setting. They'll meet and attend college workshops together so that they have a community of support before and when they start school.