UMeet is a campus community app that promotes mental wellness and works to support transfer students that are actively experiencing depressive symptoms and/or are clinically diagnosed with depression.
Role
UX Researcher & Designer
Skills
Background Research, Interviews, Surveys, Design Requirements
Timeline
January - April 2022
Team Members
Nadia Fanaras (self)
Anna Gilhool
Jason Fender
Anna Gilhool
Jason Fender
Overview
Past research has shown that university transfer students experience higher rates of depressive symptoms in their first semester than non-transfer students. Students with more social support have shown to adjust better to college life. Current solutions (such as Canvas and Transferology) focus on aiding transfer students with academic resources, but fail to address boosting social connectedness.
Our team aimed to provide a technological resource for University of Michigan (U-M) transfer students with depression to help them foster social connections, which in turn will help students cope with depression. To do so, we first had to answer the following research questions:
● What challenges do U-M transfer students with depressive symptoms face and how do they currently utilize social support to help cope with their depressive symptoms?
● How can technological resources foster social support and help U-M transfer students cope with depression?
● What challenges do U-M transfer students with depressive symptoms face and how do they currently utilize social support to help cope with their depressive symptoms?
● How can technological resources foster social support and help U-M transfer students cope with depression?
Research Methodology
Our team sent out a survey to Fall 2021 and Winter 2022 U-M Transfer Students who experience depressive symptoms. We also conducted 1:1 interviews with U-M Transfer Students and U-M Transfer Staff.
The survey asked open and close-ended questions to determine,
● what resources UofM transfer students currently use to help support them in their transition
● how satisfied they are with the availability of current resources
● transfer student involvement in social activities outside of academic-related work
● how satisfied they are with the availability of current resources
● transfer student involvement in social activities outside of academic-related work
Transfer student interview questions were centered on,
● specific experiences where students have been supported during their transition
● how or if their current social activities & engagement have helped their mental wellness
● students' experience with technological resources to understand the extent that students are being supported, and what the resouces are lacking
● how or if their current social activities & engagement have helped their mental wellness
● students' experience with technological resources to understand the extent that students are being supported, and what the resouces are lacking
Advisor and staff interview questions were centered on,
● learning about what resources are offered to U-M transfer students with depression
● how staff promote mental health wellness with U-M transfer students with depression
● understand if staff notices trends or common experiences within U-M transfer students with depression
● how staff promote mental health wellness with U-M transfer students with depression
● understand if staff notices trends or common experiences within U-M transfer students with depression
Data Analysis
Our survey consisted of a mix of open and closed-ended questions. To analyze the responses from open-ended questions, our team used affinity mapping to group themes from survey results.
To analyze closed-ended questions we utilized counts to determine the number of respondents that fell into each response option. After calculating the counts for all questions we created charts to visualize the data. Analyzing the data in this way allowed us to visualize the most salient responses and compare experiences across respondents.
Similarly to our open-ending survey questions, we used affinity mapping to analyze our interview data. To differentiate interviewee by type, each was given an ID and an assigned color sticky note. By giving interviewees a code and color, we could then visually identify similarities and differences between respondents within the grouped sticky notes.
To analyze closed-ended questions we utilized counts to determine the number of respondents that fell into each response option. After calculating the counts for all questions we created charts to visualize the data. Analyzing the data in this way allowed us to visualize the most salient responses and compare experiences across respondents.
Similarly to our open-ending survey questions, we used affinity mapping to analyze our interview data. To differentiate interviewee by type, each was given an ID and an assigned color sticky note. By giving interviewees a code and color, we could then visually identify similarities and differences between respondents within the grouped sticky notes.
Key Findings
Surveys
When asked about challenges U-M transfers experience, respondents stated sentiments such as “everyone has already made their friends,” “feeling outcast from freshmen who think less of transfers,” “building friendships,” and “meeting new people.”
Additional Findings:
● 14/18 transfer students reported that social media helps them cope to some extent
● In-person resources were less utilized than any online resources
● Students need help facilitating social opportunities to meet new people
● Respondents expressed that fitting into the U-M community and making friends has been a big challenge
● 14/18 transfer students reported that social media helps them cope to some extent
● In-person resources were less utilized than any online resources
● Students need help facilitating social opportunities to meet new people
● Respondents expressed that fitting into the U-M community and making friends has been a big challenge
Transfer Student Interviews
Our team observed a theme with transfer students wanting a stronger sense of belonging within the campus community.
“I didn’t have to do the whole ‘watch football downstairs in the common area’, and I tried that but there was still a disconnect. I can’t connect. I’m not going through what you’re going through. I’m not taking the same classes you’re taking...”
Additional Findings:
● U-M transfer students use social apps to facilitate meeting new people, chat casually, and use it as a way to cope
● U-M transfer students want to have a way to connect with students like them, preferably through in-person experiences
● U-M transfer students have a more difficult time feeling a sense of belonging
● U-M transfer students use social apps to facilitate meeting new people, chat casually, and use it as a way to cope
● U-M transfer students want to have a way to connect with students like them, preferably through in-person experiences
● U-M transfer students have a more difficult time feeling a sense of belonging
Staff Interviews
U-M staff were able to speak to trends they see within the transfer student community and current ways they support transfer students during their transition to Michigan. Staff members further confirmed that transfer students struggle to find a sense of belonging.
“A lot of it has to do with the fact that they don't feel as connected to the community at large, as our other students do, on top of the general struggling with the rigors of the coursework and that sort of thing that a lot of our students tend to struggle with.”
Design Requirements
Based off our survey and interview findings, we determined 5 design requirements to help U-M transfer students cope with depressive symptoms during their transition to U-M:
1. Create an online space for casual conversation, while suggesting in-person events coordinated by the university and peers
2. Give students the ability to connect with others and access to resources before they step foot on campus
3. Promote awareness of resources and event opportunities throughout the student’s entire college career
4. Foster student connections via shared identities and interests to build a sense of community
5. Create an opportunity for students to belong to the University of Michigan community, not just the transfer student community
Ideation
To kickstart ideation, our team utilized a "How Might We..." approach to solution our design requirements. From there, we did individual brain dumps and came together to identify overlapping ideas that fully captured our design requirements. Our team narrowed down our concepts to 3 concrete design ideas: an online community matching app, a U-M cohort portal, and a U-M wellness portal.
Evaluation
preference testing
To evaluate the 3 different versions of our mid-fi prototype we created a preference survey to the U-M student population. The preference survey included multiple choice questions asking respondents to choose which screens they visually preferred. We also asked open-ended feedback questions asking respondents to elaborate why they choose a certain screen.
expert feedback sessions
After the preference survey, we created a working prototype that flowed through our main features. We showed this flow to 5 UX experts and asked them to share their screen and walk through the mid-fi prototype. While walking through the flow, we asked experts to think aloud and provide any design feedback on the screens.
Final Design
Our final design became UMeet, a U-M matching system for all students to find community through a shared sense of identity and interests. Students highly expressed in interviews and the survey that it was difficult to find a community as a transfer student and they wanted to feel a part of the university as a whole, not just among transfer students.
When users register for the first time they will be instructed to complete an intro survey, which allows deeper-level matching to integrate our design requirement of fostering connections among students with shared identities and interests. The application is largely chat-based, honing in on the causal conversation space for students. There is also the ability to event share within group chats, which allows peers to create smaller, casual events that fit into their schedule and continue throughout their college experience. The action of peer-to-peer communication will aid in knowledge sharing of resources.
When users register for the first time they will be instructed to complete an intro survey, which allows deeper-level matching to integrate our design requirement of fostering connections among students with shared identities and interests. The application is largely chat-based, honing in on the causal conversation space for students. There is also the ability to event share within group chats, which allows peers to create smaller, casual events that fit into their schedule and continue throughout their college experience. The action of peer-to-peer communication will aid in knowledge sharing of resources.
“I want something...where you can actually find people who you have things in common with and who you're living a similar life to…something like the Match.com of finding friends.”
Introduction survey
During registration, users are prompted to take an intro survey that captures their background as a U-M student including academic standing, school(s) enrolled in, existing campus involvement, and specific interests. These factors will form an understanding of the user’s profile and guide the next feature of UMeet, community matching.
Community matching
In community matching, users are guided to experience a “dating app” style matching system to help them find and join communities that match their interests. Based on their answers from the intro survey, users will be able to swipe through the communities they matched to and view key details about each community. If a community interests the user, they can “swipe right” to join it, or, “swipe left” to “pass” the community. Once the user goes through all of their initial matches, they’re able to start interacting with their communities.
main functionality
Realization Plan & Limitations
Next steps in research for UMeet would include validating our final design. We would run a usability test with U-M students and also recruit U-M transfer students for design feedback sessions, to learn about new features they would want to be included and to receive feedback on the app’s current offerings. Additionally, because our research focused on U-M transfer students more, generative research could be conducted to learn if transfer students with depressive students at different universities would also benefit from a technology resource, like UMeet.
To take UMeet to its next step in becoming a launched service for U-M students, we would like to pitch our idea to U-M students with a background in app development through emailing listservs and reaching out to computer science (CS) and engineering-based organizations on campus. We would especially like to recruit U-M transfer students in the engineering/CS pathways to help with development, as our end goal is to provide a technological resource for transfer students with depression to help them foster social connections, which in turn will help students cope with depression.
To take UMeet to its next step in becoming a launched service for U-M students, we would like to pitch our idea to U-M students with a background in app development through emailing listservs and reaching out to computer science (CS) and engineering-based organizations on campus. We would especially like to recruit U-M transfer students in the engineering/CS pathways to help with development, as our end goal is to provide a technological resource for transfer students with depression to help them foster social connections, which in turn will help students cope with depression.
