Milestone 3b: Research Findings

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1. Scope and Methodology

The target audience of this research encompasses all university students, including undergraduate and postgraduate students (master’s and doctoral students). This inclusive approach is decided based on the observation that students across all levels of higher education encounter similar challenges within the existing university resource system. By examining the experiences and needs of a diverse student population, this research aims to provide comprehensive insights into the systemic issues affecting access to academic, career, and mental health support services.

The following mixed research methods are adopted:

(a) Survey for university students

A set of survey questions is distributed to all undergraduate and postgraduate students, gathering data on their experiences and challenges regarding academic, career, and mental health support services, as well as their preferences and openness in using relevant technological solutions to address these issues.

Convenience sampling is used for survey distribution. It was shared through my capstone class Slack group, the LTXD student WhatsApp group, and among my acquaintances who are currently university students. A total of 21 responses were collected.

Google form: https://forms.gle/bT2d1RYpm2itiJ9q8

(b) Interviews with university administrators

Two interviews were conducted with experienced higher education administrators at NYU, who provided valuable insights into the challenges students are facing and the current efforts of student support services in their departments.

(c) Desktop research

Academic articles, reports, and studies on the challenges faced by university students in accessing support services and the use of AI in higher education are studied. Existing policies and best practices at universities for utilizing technology in education are also reviewed.

2. Literature Review

Read my full literature review document below:

Literature Review

(a) Student Development Theories

The provision of student support services in colleges is highly related to student development and personal growth theories. Sanford (1966) suggests that in order for growth and personal development to take place, a student needs to have a balance between challenge and support. When students are in a transitional environment (transitioning from high school to higher education), inadequate support promotes defensiveness and anxiety (Walther, 2006). On the contrary, environments with heavy support yet inadequate challenges are tedious and may even overwhelm the students (Khan, et al., 2021). As a result, providing sufficient but not excessive support in the university setting is important, yet challenging to balance.

(b) Complexity in the Challenges Faced by University Students

Providing student support services in higher education is fundamentally different from that in primary and secondary education. Higher education students vary widely in age and life stages, with some young freshmen struggling to find their future path and some adult graduates trying to balance multiple responsibilities outside of school. As a result, the capacity of each student to cope with these demands can differ significantly.

McClusky’s “theory of margin” (1970) suggests that the ability of students to cope with the demands of their roles (i.e. load of life) depends on their available resources (i.e. power of life). By regularly interacting with and introducing appropriate resources to students, institutions can help students determine their "margin" or capacity to manage their academic, career, and mental health challenges (Polson, 2003).

(c) Concerns of Using AI in Education

Recommender Systems (RSs) are AI-based algorithms that use data to predict and support user-tailored decision-making. They provide suggestions from a wide range of options based on users’ past choices or personal information, as well as the choices of like-minded users (Aggarwal, 2016). RS may contribute to more efficient university resource utilization by helping students identify and access the most relevant resources and reducing time spent searching. However, RSs also pose risks to users’ knowledge and critical thinking skills. The opportunity for users to actively search for options is an important process for making informed decisions and learning about the different choices available. Removing this knowledge acquisition process may create a biased grasp of reality, leading to behaviors that gradually become standardized and homogeneous with other users in the same clusters (Bonicalzi et al., 2023). When applying RS to student support services, it is important to balance between providing tailored recommendations and encouraging students to explore and critically evaluate available resources.

3. Findings and Discussion

(a) Main Challenges in Accessing Resources

Ample but Decentralized Resources

The survey found that students' average confidence level in accessing university resources was only 6.8/10, with the lowest score (6.5/10) in career support.

30% of survey respondents agreed that resources in their universities are sufficient but decentralized and inconsistent. They mentioned issues such as “the resources are so overwhelming and separate that sometimes it is hard to keep up with all of them.” Similar opinions were noted by experienced university administrators. Interviewee 2 mentioned that knowing where to go is especially challenging for students “at a large school where there are so many other resources available and students are pulled in so many directions.”

An overwhelming availability and supply of information may be detrimental as it requires students to exert extra effort to sort and filter through the wealth of information, leading to difficulties in processing and decision-making (Melgoza et al., 2002). The decentralized nature of resources increases the cognitive load on students, explaining why they struggle to navigate and utilize available resources effectively.

Passive Approach to Seeking Help

Both interviewees raised a common issue among students, noting that most are passive in seeking help. Interviewee 1 mentioned that the hardest part is letting students know and recognize existing services and tools because students are usually hesitant and scared of asking for help, especially when it comes to mental health.

This echoes Crişan et al.’s (2015) study, which found that most students are likely to uphold a passive approach toward career exploration, primarily due to immaturity, passive involvement in the decision-making process, and poor abilities in career exploration. This also leads to a lack of long-term career planning.

(b) Current Use of Technology in Student Support Services

At Students’ Level

Official university apps, developed specifically for the institution's students, are usually well-known but not widely utilized. For example, NYU Mobile is the official app designed to enhance the experience of NYU students, faculty, and employees (NYU, n.d.a.). Another example is Wellness Exchange, a mental health resource app at NYU (NYU, n.d.b.). Both of them direct students to the relevant NYU resources with a certain extent of personalization, such as a personalized home screen for students to save access to favorite features, or different mental health self-assessment tests.

According to the survey, 80% of student respondents are aware of the official apps at their universities. However, nearly half of them reported forgetting to use them and/or not finding them useful. As a student myself, I share the same feeling with these respondents, as I also find that these apps do not offer much additional value beyond being a repository of existing university resources (e.g., Albert, Engage, Handshake, etc.). Combining the survey results with my own experience, I aim to analyze why the official apps at NYU are not attractive to students.

The main reason is that the interface of these apps is not user-friendly or intuitive enough. One survey respondent mentioned that the security settings of the app created hassles and made it less user-friendly. As a result, when students want to use specific functions, they tend to go directly to the dedicated websites or apps. For instance, if I want to drop a course, I would go directly to the Albert webpage instead of opening NYU Mobile. Similarly, for Handshake, I prefer using the dedicated Handshake app rather than accessing it through NYU Mobile. This is because the specialized apps or websites are more intuitive and streamlined for their specific functions, reducing the number of steps and time needed compared to navigating through a centralized university app.

Besides students’ lack of interest in using university apps, research from Dahlstrom, et al. (2014) also found that students are not always prepared for institutionally specific technology, such as the LMS and the student registration system. Although students' digital literacy may be strong, their skills and experiences do not necessarily transfer to institutionally specific technology. Nearly half of the students in the research said they wished they had been better prepared to use these technologies when they first entered college. As a result, streamlining existing university apps and systems and making them more user-friendly has been identified as a major gap in this research.

In addition to institution-specific apps, one-third of the respondents use other tools such as university library resources, LinkedIn, and third-party apps like Headspace (a mental health and meditation app). These tools are popular among students and effective in providing support resources, as reported in the survey. Considering this, integrating them with the existing university LMS system and career platforms presents a possible gap that will be specified in the next part (4.4 Knowledge Gaps).

At Departmental and University Levels

The Department of ALT does not extensively integrate the use of technology or AI, primarily because they focus on providing personalized, one-on-one support to individual students that does not rely heavily on technology.

In contrast, at the university level, the Wasserman Center utilizes a wide range of technologies in their career tests and job interview practices. For example, CareerExplorer is a career-matching platform that helps students find their ideal career by matching students’ career test results with their career profile database (CareerExplorer, 2024). Another example is Big Interview, an online platform providing interactive tools for job interview practice (Big Interview, 2024). Nevertheless, not many students are aware of these tools. According to the survey, none of the respondents know or have used these free career tools available at NYU. This lack of awareness is partly due to the decentralized nature of resources at the university that is illustrated earlier in this paper. When students must navigate multiple platforms and websites to find the tools they need, this fragmentation increases the time cost and the likelihood of missing some available resources.

(c) Future Use of AI-driven Technological Solutions

76% of student respondents show openness and positive attitudes toward using technology and AI to access support services. In the survey, they rated their interest in using a comprehensive app or online platform that integrates university support resources at an average of 7 out of 10. They reported finding several functions particularly useful, including “analyzing job application materials and suggesting personalized improvements” and “suggesting alternative career paths or industries based on your skills, interests, and application history.” Overall, students are most interested in functions related to career support.

This echoes the findings of the increased demand for mobile access to institutional technology. Dahlstrom, et al. (2014) discovered that mobile access to student-facing university systems (e.g. the LMS) is becoming increasingly important and popular. This trend contributes to the need for a mobile-friendly, customizable, personalized, and integrated system to enhance student learning.

The survey results also indicate that students prioritize user-friendly features, such as an intuitive user interface, customizable options, and overall convenience of use. These aspects will be key focuses in developing the solution.

4. Knowledge Gaps

Based on the above findings, four knowledge gaps are identified below as the basis of the design solution.

(a) Streamline Existing University Functions

In response to the students’ feedback of not finding the existing university apps user-friendly and intuitive, this paper aims to improve the student experience by streamlining the interfaces and functionality of existing university apps to increase student engagement with these resources.

(b) Integrate External Apps and Tools

In response to the lack of integration between third-party apps (e.g. LinkedIn, Handshake) and the university's own platforms (e.g. Brightspace), this paper suggests integrating these popular tools with the university's systems to improve the overall student experience and accessibility of resources.

(c) Provide Personalized AI-driven Insights and Support

(d) Incorporate Effective Outreach And Engagement Strategies

To address the main problem of decentralized resources in institutions, this project aims to incorporate more effective marketing and engagement strategies to enhance the outreach of the app.

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