7 The Implementation of a Communication Plan with the Objective to Increase Awareness of Academic Resources and Destigmatize the use of Academic Support

As stated in the executive summary, a key barrier to the use of academic resources is simply student awareness. We do not currently have existing data on student awareness. Therefore, we recommend implementing an awareness campaign with metrics in place, to ensure we are effectively reaching students with academic support opportunities. The committee recommends the following elements of a communication plan be considered:

1. Determine a measurable outcome for increasing student awareness

While we currently have some metrics for measuring student satisfaction of our existing resources, we do not currently have a student survey question or existing strategy to measure the awareness of academic services. This is the first step in creating a measurable communications campaign objective.

 2. A Cross-Channel Approach to Communication

A common grievance of faculty and staff is that students fail to check their email. In addition, this channel of communication is often over-utilized in the academic sphere. The number of communication channels and messages students receive every day can quickly get overwhelming. When students are overwhelmed, they check out — leaving even the most important message unread.

While email is often over-used, it shouldn’t be abandoned. Sending messages over all channels will inevitably lead to burnout where students don’t pay attention to anything anymore. Instead, it is critical to determine what channels are appropriate for what type of communication. The committee would encourage the use of MyHub, and similarly visible channels such as SMS messages, and mobile push notifications for time-sensitive information, such as an upcoming event.  Other types of information should be reserved for a more passive channel like email or an in-app notification.

 3. Increased Visual Presence

While posters may be declining in popularity, they remain a relevant way to communicate resources to students. However, these critical resource announcements are often sharing space with several other announcements and are may be crowded out.

The committee would encourage the use of reserved classroom space, specifically for the placement of “Student Support Services.” Ideally, these posters would share a consistent theme and design strategy, as well as contain an interactive element such as a QR code, allowing students to schedule with the resource while in the classroom where academic progress is most relevant and an instructor can easily reference a student to the appropriate support.

4. A Consistent Messaging Strategy

A communication strategy should increase the awareness of academic resources while reducing the associated stigma and other psychological barriers preventing students from using academic resources.

Pacific Lutheran University raised a critical question “Why do college students who are struggling the most seem the least likely to seek academic help?”  As hypothesized, perceived stigma was at the forefront of the following barriers related to help-seeking behaviors. These psychological barriers should be considered when determining appropriate messaging.

Associated Stigma: Several students acknowledged that the stigma they felt stemmed not from external sources, but from their own, internalized thoughts and feelings. Students felt that they would be perceived as “dumb” even if there was no direct evidence to support that assumption.”

Personal Obstacles: Students expressed emotions ranging from discomfort to outright fear toward getting one-on-one help from tutors. One student stated that she would be reluctant to go to tutoring at all without bringing along a friend.

Lack of  Knowledge: Several students were intimidated by the mere thought of using an academic resource, citing a fear of the unknown. Some students went so far as to construct their own ideas about what a tutoring session might entail, often based on the (mistaken) belief that the tutor would chastise them for asking for help. While, on the surface, the comment to the right may seem to indicate that students are afraid of being stigmatized, such comments point to a deeper, internalized fear of rejection. In addition to being afraid of judgment by their peers, students were afraid that their academic work would be harshly criticized by the very tutors they sought out for help.

These psychological barriers to seeking help are critical, and while Kirkwood maintains a high rate of overall satisfaction rating of services, the students that expressed dissatisfaction routinely echoed sentiments reflected in PLU’s research. Our students have expressed similar discomfort seeking help and on some occasions expressed that those providing academic services were “rude.”

This qualitative feedback theme was identified as a consistent theme in Kirkwood’s 2023 Student Report. However, given the insights gained from PLU’s study and beyond, it is likely that students entering an unknown situation such as a tutoring appointment are also experiencing a high level of insecurity coupled with anxiety surrounding “the unknown.” This would also likely result in a student seeking out verbal or nonverbal confirmation of those feelings. Thus, it is also recommended academic support staff undergo some level of customer service training, allowing them to more effectively engage with at-risk students.

With these recommendations in mind, the following case studies reflect messaging strategies that may serve as a point of inspiration for future student communication.

Relevant Case Studies:

The “You Good” Campaign: The Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE)

PDE developed posters that colleges and universities can personalize, print, and post on their campuses directing students to critical resources. The primary goal of this campaign was to raise awareness of and destigmatize the use of resources. According to  Secretary of Education Dr. Khalid N. Mumin. “This new anti-stigma campaign reminds students that it’s okay to ask for help, and that the help they need is only a phone call or an email away.” While the results of this specific campaign remain to be seen, the psychological stigma of asking for help, coupled with the increased anxiety post-covid-19, provide a strong rationale for a campaign to reduce stigma and increase help-seeking behaviors, a key factor in connecting students with the resources they need to be successful.

The “Strong Student Campaign” Montclair State University, New Jersey

It was recognized that there was a lack of awareness among students regarding the resources and strategies available to them, including the tutoring center, mental health resources and digital resources for time management and other study skills. Among the 1,000 or so participants in Montclair’s Academic Coaching program, time management (75 percent), meeting deadlines (61 percent) and monitoring academic progress (56 percent) were the most common areas of focus. That’s on par with national data from Inside Higher Ed’s 2023 Student Voice survey, conducted by College Pulse. Institutional leaders at Montclair State decided to launch a messaging campaign to create awareness of healthy habits and ways the university can support students.

The faculty distribution of academic skills information and resources involves faculty members can presenting weekly slides, pre-made by the campaign team aligning with that week’s messaging, that share different behaviors or attitudes of successful students. Topics range from “Attend Class Like You Mean It” and “Do the Work (on Time)” to “Make Your Own Community” and “Know Your Strengths and Weakness.” Faculty get twice-weekly email reminders from campaign leaders to flag the week’s topic and invite them to faculty-focused programming.

Each slide includes a few practical tips a student can implement and relevant resources on campus. For example, for students looking to better plan their time, the slide highlights parking resources, different types of calendars students can use and recommends the Peer Academic Coaches as a contact for more personalized support.

In addition, the ability for students to communicate with peer tutors on an app, make appointments via their phone, meet outside of traditional office hours, and read reviews about provided supports, the Network of Stem Education Centers validates the use of such channels to integrate storytelling as a key strategy in communication the value of resources through the use of faculty testimonials and student profiles that highlight the projects, work of the resource, and impact on students’ lives.

The “Strong Student Campaign” messaging is also conveyed in general campus media communication, especially social media. Doing so ensures that the messages heard in the classroom are echoed elsewhere in students’ engagements with the school. The result is frequent, consistent, and relevant messages delivered to students across channels and from all areas of the institution.