CASE STUDY

First Year Student Diary Study

The NYU Usability Lab investigated the experience of first year students across the university through regular Zoom calls and written entries.

Project Background

The goal of this research was to understand first-year students' experiences as they navigate life as recent arrivals to NYU, and to identify any patterns in their experiences that point to areas where the university can better support them.

Project timeframe: 6 months. September 2023 - March 2024.

Audience: NYU staff, faculty, and leadership

Stakeholders: Enrollment Management and Student Affairs

The Study

Research Method: Diary Study

24 full-time, first year students participated in this study. Participants participated in Zoom calls and completed diary entries throughout the study. During Zoom calls, participants were asked:

What is mattering to you right now?
Reflect on any challenges or stumbling blocks you experienced.
Is anything currently surprising to you as a student at NYU?

Participants also expanded upon their diary entries during Zoom calls so researchers could gain a deeper understanding of their thoughts, feelings, and experiences.

Research Sessions: Monthly Zoom calls were conducted one-on-one remotely via Zoom web conferencing and recorded for post-session analysis; sessions ran for approximately 60 minutes per participant. Participants also completed diary entries at least twice a month, these were typically 1-3 paragraphs long.

Analysis: After speaking with a participant, the facilitator reviewed notes and highlighted key insights from each session. Cumulative impressions, experiences, and feelings were collected, along with specific sources of student frustration. Facilitators would meet weekly throughout the study to discuss findings and keep track of the student experience.

Key Takeaways

Top takeaways from this research included:

Student Health Accessibility & Technology. Students wanted greater awareness and clarity around what was available to them at the Wellness Exchange and Student Health Center. They also commented on their appointments with practitioners, and the appointment making process.
Navigation & Wayfinding. Students found it challenging to navigate the campus physically and intellectually, grappling with transportation, locating buildings and classrooms, and accessing resources, often relying on personal connections for support.
Finding Community. Some students struggled to find “their people”. They reported difficulty learning about and filtering through campus events. For some populations, events were sometimes in difficult locations and times.
Academic Culture & Identity. Students discussed adjusting to the culture of higher ed, “weeder” classes, and surprises over the advisement process and CORE classes requirements.

Impact

A new project, the Integrated Student Experience project, has been kicked off to further dive into themes raised by this research around student onboarding and advising. This work includes potentially consolidating student resources through the development of a central online resource hub.
The success of this study has kicked off more diary studies to understand and improve an even wider range of student experiences, including the First Year Study Away populations and potentially Transfer and Spring Semester Start students.

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