#campusbubble

Check out some of the results from the pilot:

Our Pilot Process

Implement, setup and customize our web and mobile app with categorized Bubbles (groups) to match the organization of Student Life and student group needs.

Execute two weekly focus group meetings over a three week span with freshmen, sophomores, juniors, seniors and Student Life staff with various levels of leadership experience.

Conduct training sessions to review administrative tools to measure, monitor, and control the platform in order to create time savings and better results from Student Life operations.

Goals For The Pilot

Consistent usage and effective transfer of information

Student engagement and excitement

Product versatility (helpful, fun, and familiar)

Data (collected through May 11, 2015)

Before Pilot: 26% agree

After Pilot: 74% agree

Tangible Success

Saves Time: Student Life Staff communicated directly to students via push notifications about the pilot meetings in order to maximize attendance quickly. In addition, Bubble allowed students to communicate directly among themselves to decrease dependency on Student Life office resources.

Potential Cost Savings: Campus Bubble eliminates the need for Point University to independently develop a mobile app potentially costing $100,000+.

Improved Operations: Increased awareness of events and a stronger sense of belonging might impact student retention and increase the utilization of facilities and programming.

A Quote From Pilot Participant:

“...many students would say that we don't have things to do here but we clearly do. It's just a matter of communicating the information to others. If we can do that, then we'll see better outcomes of the events that we do have here.”

Interested in learning more?

Contact me with any questions, and I will be happy to finish the conversation.

So how can you, as an educational professional, help them succeed?

The answer is to facilitate a sense of community for them. As a non-traditional student, myself, I would highly recommend the following:

1. Provide a forum for non-traditional students to communicate together.

Giving non-traditional students, like me a central place to share ideas, resources, struggles and solutions will strengthen community. As a result, students will discover ways to maintain a balanced lifestyle.

I enrolled into an online graduate program because of the age gap between traditional graduate students and me. Besides that, I also have a lot going on. I have a full time job. I’m highly active in my church. I just got married. And we just adopted a very cute, but very high maintenance puppy. It’s calming to know that there are others around me who are experiencing similar challenges. I don’t celebrate their struggles. It just gives me a sense that I’m not alone.

2. Encourage high student engagement.

A student’s conflicting demands on his or her time for activities like work, attending class, parenting, and other obligations is challenging; so of course adding “campus life” to the mix may sound counterproductive. However, as many know, engagement is key to student retention, especially among non-traditional students.

Studies show that students who contribute actively to their educational environments are more likely to succeed in college. These experiences include:

Learning communities

Service-learning

Organization and event participation

Undergraduate research

Make communication accessible with a central destination for community events like Campus Bubble. Give students something to do outside of the classroom to generate interest and motivation. As a non-traditional student, some great opportunities that I would appreciate include the ability to instantly collaborate with other students in my classes, keeping abreast of interesting events on and off campus, and the option to join and participate with student organizations with virtual accessibility. These enhancements help the balancing act because they contribute to my success as student.

3. Helping non-traditional students feel “a sense of belonging”

Effective two-way communication and interaction between the student and school is a brilliant way to satisfy one of our most essential human needs: belonging. Show students that they are a valued member of your institution by keeping them abreast what’s going on, and offer ways for them to interact with members of the administration, staff and student body.

I am inspired by Emory Bubble’s “Ask Dean Moon” group which includes the ability to chat directly with the dean and see news from others. And I’m always impressed with those that actually respond and offer ways to help. If only I could connect with people who could make a difference in my educational well-being as part of my online degree.

4. Make it easy.

After undergrad, I took 10 years off to focus on building my career and starting a family. Now, as a 30 plus graduate student (depending on what day it is, that number seems closer to 40), I know firsthand the difficulties of fitting into a culture that caters to 18-24 year olds. Communication plays a big part of me fitting in. Besides learning how to have a full text conversation with emoticons and acronyms, I am now very savvy in social media. And I am not alone. Studies show that 95% of everyone online is on social media. It’s a primary way to communicate.

Providing a platform that is simple, yet organized and speaks to the way we communicate today will make it easy for students, like me, to stay connected. With Campus Bubble, for example, users can:

Post statuses and events

“Like/heart” and comment on others’ posts

Direct message other users

“Share” with others

Receive push notifications directly to their mobile phones.

It mirrors the social media engagement that we’re used to, while at the same time facilitates an academic environment and a great sense of community - all in one place.

I would love to chat with you more about my experiences. Feel free to reach out to me for more insight from a non-traditional student’s perspective.

Kaye Curry, Campus Bubble [email protected]