Maria Manaog
“How might we foster meaningful and authentic experiences when students interact with our international and study abroad services?"
Research Case Study
Background
In the Spring 2019 semester, I was a student interning at the UA Design Lab. My team’s client, UA Global (now known as Arizona International), needed high-quality student feedback on their services.
My Role: 1 of 6 research consultants working together on an interdisciplinary team.
Responsibilities:
Project Timeline: January - April 2019
Tools Used:
Project Overview
The University of Arizona is a large public university in the city of Tucson.
Their UAGlobal department provides resources for international and study abroad students. The client is concerned that students are generally unaware of their services and want actionable insights to not only improve their existing amenities tailored for its target audience, as well as raise overall awareness of the department.
The Scope:
Kicking Off
Our team’s manager introduced us to Erin Sander’s Research Learning Spiral, which was the process we used as a framework to guide our research work.
Kicking Off
The team first set up a meeting with our main representative of UAGlobal, who at the time was the Director of Special Projects that would use our insights as part of their proposal to gain funding from the UA Strategic Initiatives Fund.
We did this to:
What we knew beforehand
We considered UAGlobal’s overall mission statement:
“Our mission is to set the standard for an international university in the digital age. We believe global engagement enriches the University of Arizona and positively impacts the world – so we are proud to serve the University as a central hub for international resources.”
What we knew beforehand
The team also collected statistics from UA Global Offices to gauge the breadth of the department’s resources and observe any major trends in interaction touchpoints:
30% increase in international student fall enrollment from 2013 - 2018
100 programs in over 60 countries
Overall student traffic to UAGlobal offices decreased between 2017 & 2018:
15.6% decrease
in interaction with the International Student Services
47.2% decrease
in interaction with the Study Abroad and Student Exchange
What opportunities does UAGlobal have to establish their reputation as an “international university” both on and off the main campus?
Kicking Off - Proto-Personas
After the client meeting, I created proto-personas that reflect the client’s assumptions about our target users. This served as a benchmark and would be revisited post-data collection.
Domestic Student
(US Citizen)
International Student
(Non-US Citizen)
“I’m not entirely sure what UA Global is.”
Hesitations & Pain Points
“I want more social opportunities on campus that make me feel seen.”
Hesitations & Pain Points
– Unaware of most student resources/events
– Creature of habit; takes a lot to try new things
– Too busy to go out of their way to dig for resources
– Doesn’t feel included on campus
– Language barriers
– No representation in events
Research Methods
Surveys
Focus Groups
In-depth Interviews
Affinity Diagrams
Persona Creation
Background Research
Research Setup
1) Data Collection
2) Benchmark Personas
3) Competitive Analyses
225 total participants
- 180 survey responses
- 34 in-depth interviews
- 2 focus groups
3 student personas
- Interested in study abroad
- International
- Students who can indirectly
3 universities
- University of Oregon
- Arizona State University
- University of Madison-Wisconsin
benefit from UAGlobal’s other amenities
Phase 1: Data Collection
We gathered student feedback through 3 methods to discover different types of information:
189 Surveys
Goal: Reach a wide variety of UA students to understand their perception of “on-campus community” and of UAGlobal itself
34 Interviews
2 Focus Groups
Goal: Learn personal experiences of these students through 45 minute-long in-depth conversations
integrate into lecture, for extra credit, etc.
Goal: Facilitate open conversation among students with similar backgrounds to identify shared experiences and brainstorm ideas for improvements
Distributed via:
– Bulk email
– Social media
– Coordination with professors to
Talked with 1st and 2nd degree connections that were UA students who were:
– International
– Interested in study abroad
– Former study abroad participants
Limited budget; gift cards awarded only to participants of these groups:
– International students
– Former study abroad participants
Survey Findings
Statistics
– 28% of respondents do NOT know what UAGlobal is
– 36% of respondents do NOT feel fully integrated at UA
– Sports, Clubs, and Greek Life are the top 3 reasons that respondents felt best facilitated a sense of community at UA
User Quote
"I don't know where to find [UAGlobal] if I were to want to reach out to them…I think it would be really good for them to have some sort of place that embraces culture on campus."
"I wish they helped students returning from study abroad who need help re-adjusting back to US culture."
1:1 Interview Findings
User Quotes
“I studied abroad and sometimes I see them on the mall but I don’t know how they help other students.”
“There was a lot of miscommunication between all the departments when I asked for some papers for my scholarship, everyone told me to go to the other department which was annoying.”
“There process of [applying to study abroad] felt very rushed.”
Focus Group Findings
User Quotes
“Have various events that represent different cultures to make internationals students feel more comfortable.”
“Have previous study abroad students attend info sessions to talk about their own experiences in their program.”
“Food is a big connector across communities … bond through music and dance as well..”
Phase 2: Persona Creation
Comparing these to my Proto-Personas, we now had to consider:
Direct consumer: interested or actively engaged in study abroad programs
Indirect consumer: Uninvolved with study abroad, but can still benefit from them in other ways
Think beyond direct consumer services
What factors create a general sense of community?
Are there shared wants across all kinds of UA students?
Connection to mission statement
UAGlobal advocates for diversity on and off the main campus by creating opportunities to see the world and learn from other cultures
“Domestic” students do not all share the same needs when interacting with UAGlobal
How UAGlobal enhances the college experience of students regardless of citizenship or interest in study abroad
How UAGlobal’s impact goes beyond their services for study abroad & international students - they promote acceptance and education of diversity
“I like the thought of studying abroad because I can make lifelong memories while learning important skills for my career.”
He is a 19 year old freshman studying Political Science. He wants to study abroad next semester in Denmark.
Rob Has
Rob Doesn’t Have
A passion to forward his career in global policy with every opportunity he gets
Attended his first info session hosted by UAGlobal
Prior experience visiting abroad
The budget in his own savings to fund his trip - he will need scholarships
“I feel that sometimes because of the language barrier, it makes it challenging to find new friends.”
She is a 22 year old senior studying Economics. She moved to the US from China for her bachelor’s degree when she was 19.
Kim Has
Kim Doesn’t Have
Extensive familiarity with UAGlobal - they helped her with her passport and admissions process
A friend group mostly consisting of other international students
A lot of on-campus events or facilities that acknowledge her cultural identity
Fluent English
“ I’m older than most students and also a transfer student, which makes it hard for me to fully integrate with on-campus culture.”
He is a 26 year old grad student working on his PhD in Biomedical Engineering. He recently transferred from Chicago, where he got his bachelor’s degree last year.
Dan Has
Dan Doesn’t Have
Traveled abroad before, but not for school
An interest to exploring Tucson and the UA campus amenities
Social opportunities or groups that makes him feel connected to campus
Any intention to study abroad for educational purposes through UA
What are other schools doing for their international and study abroad students?
How do they facilitate an inclusive and welcoming sense of community at their own university?
Phase 3: Competitive Analysis
After collecting observations, I conducted an elaborate competitive landscape analysis of the University of Arizona’s 17 Peer Institutions, from which I narrowed down to 3 universities that have the most relevant services that could accommodate our own target audiences.
Click here for a full-size view of the chart!
Key Insights and Opportunities #1
UAGlobal needs promotional assistance to better convey its purpose.
105/225 student participants associated UAGlobal with only study abroad
31/225 student participants associated UAGlobal with only international student services, or related
Opportunities
– Connect partial awareness through marketing materials
– Water bottles, koozies, pens, notepads
– Flyers (handouts and post throughout buildings)
– Raise visibility on campus via tabling on the UA Mall
– Interactive games and mini events
– Distribute brochures
– Consider renaming the department to a more intuitive title
– Avoid confusion as a singular-goal department
Key Insights and Opportunities #2
UAGlobal needs to stay involved with study abroad students (even post–trip).
Study abroad students felt that UAGlobal lacked in support when returning back to the US
User quotes reveal that their experiences with UAGlobal resources lacked “in-depth detail”, “clear communication”, and “consistent engagement”
Opportunities
– Implement arrival “Check Ins”
– Have a representative reach out to see how they’re doing
– Follow up survey to gather feedback on the program
– Involve former study abroad participants in UAGlobal services
– Lead information sessions & share their stories
– Potential interview on their experience - UAGlobal “blog” posts
– Sharing new knowledge with their community back home
– After coming back from study abroad, students can create a portfolio or presentation of what they did and learned in a global context
– Expand UAGlobal’s outreach and reputation
– Participants can give positive word-of-mouth advertising
Key Insights and Opportunities #3
There is an overall desire for a global student community.
45/225 of participants feel a lack of connection to campus outside of the classroom
15/225 of participants feel disconnected from UA because of differences in their own culture
Opportunities
– Create physical spaces for students to surround themselves in culture
– For social events, studying, lounging etc.
– Include art and flags throughout the building to celebrate diversity
– Provide international dining options
– Food is a language everyone can understand; breaks down barriers
– Establish an open-minded and accepting environment
– Prayer rooms, international-themed study rooms, etc.
– Encourage students to engage with UAGlobal as part of their
everyday college experience
Our Impact (2022 update!)
My team’s research initiated actionable change starting March 2019, leading to:
Click here to read the original article on my team, La Mariposa!
hey, that’s me!
What I Would Do With Additional Time…
Guerilla Research. Because the internship took place on-campus (based in the Memorial Union, where students come and go like at all hours of the day), I would’ve wanted to try approaching fellow students in their natural environment to get a more diversified pool of participants in our study.
Journey Mapping. I also would’ve wanted to show this artifact to stakeholders in our final presentation to visualize the perspective of former study abroad participant’s experience with UAGlobal, phase by phase.
Thanks for reading!
See other projects at Maria Manaog’s Portfolio Website