Home @ Illinois
A Mentorship Program
Overview
Home @ Illinois is a mentorship program for incoming international students, designed to ease their transition to campus life through broadening their campus community and understanding of American cultural norms.
Preliminary Research
We conducted 9 interviews with international students from various countries, asking about their preconceptions of the campus, emotional journey and pain points, and their use of safety measures and communication. From these results, we created a journey map for the average student.
From the initial interviews, we found that international students are at a higher risk of feeling unsafe due to unfamiliarity with culture and environment, and lacking established social networks. Using this information, we created the following personas.
After analyzing reddit testimonials, crime statistics, and our interviews, we found that actual instances of crime on campus were rare. However, students still felt unsafe and nervous for their safety.
Research Board: Made up of crime rates, reddit testimonials, campus news repots
We found that students felt most unsafe when they first got to campus, and once they began to assimilate to campus life their unease faded. This initial anxiety was primarily due to unfamiliarity with the campus, American culture and norms, and the lack of a strong social network.
So, we decided to pivot our problem statement to better reflect this discovery.
Our New Goal
How might we mitigate the information gap for international students, so they feel more comfortable on campus?
With our new objective in mind, we began brainstorming potential solutions. We used paper sketch prototypes to explore ways to bridge the information gap for international students. We selected and combined two ideas which focused on peer-to-peer connection.
Paper sketch prototypes
Building a Solution
To create an effective mentorship program for international students, we conducted a comprehensive research process, combining three surveys, three interviews, and user testing. This process uncovered key insights about program expectations, activity preferences, and matching criteria.
01: Program Structure
Our surveys revealed a high willingness (100%) among participants to engage in mentorship but a drop to 70% for organized commitments like weekly contact. This emphasized the need for clear expectations and flexible scheduling. Additionally, many participants thought of mentorship as a formal service rather than a casual relationship, which suggested the importance of structured interactions.
02: Engaging Activities
Structured activities ensure regular engagement and meaningful interactions between mentors and mentees. Participants highlighted the importance of both campus orientation and social bonding. These activities help mentees become familiar with their new environment and foster trust and connection with their mentors. The most preferred activities with over 30% interest include:
•Cafe Discovery: Visiting mentors’ favorite campus coffee spots.
•Study Spots Exploration: Guided tours of study environments tailored to mentees’ preferences.
•Campus Tour: A detailed walkthrough of campus landmarks.
•Night Walks: Exploring campus at night with a mentor for familiarity and safety tips.
•Campus Events: Attending student organization meetings or events together.
•Public Transportation Orientation: Learning to navigate campus transportation.
•Picnic in the Park: Casual outdoor bonding activities.
* Google survey available upon request
03: Matching Criteria
Preferred Communication: Email and social media were favored channels.
Matching Priorities: Interests, hobbies, and cultures ranked highest, while personality traits like introversion or extroversion received less focus. Most users also preferred their partner had the same gender identity as them.
Commitment Levels: Most mentors preferred flexible time commitments, with a maximum of three hours per week.
Key Adjustments:
1. A matching algorithm based on shared interests and cultural backgrounds
2. Options for mentors to customize their level of engagement and provide feedback
3. A clear scheduling processes and schedule generator
App Design
The Home @ Illinois mentorship program establishes a structured relationship where mentors serve as cultural guides for incoming international students, helping to ease feelings of anxiety as they transition to campus life. Mentors will regularly check in with their partners, answer questions, and provide a support system, helping mentees gain an understanding of the campus environment and social norms of the community.
Users begin by logging in with their university credentials and entering basic personal and contact information.
•Mentors will reach out to their mentee via the mentee's @illinois email during the Summer.
•Mentors will be expected to check in a few times throughout the summer, answer questions, and establish a relationship as students prepare to transition onto campus.
•Mentors will use their @illinois email address.
Then, users complete a six question survey to find their match.
•Questions will ask for the user's gender identity, mentor/mentee's preferred gender identity, major, interests, and hobbies and activities they enjoy.
Once users submit the survey, they will be matched with a partner based on shared interests and hobbies.
•If there are not exact matches, pairs will be matched based on similarity of interests
•If there are too many outliers in the answer pool, the remainder will be matched based on similarity of majors.
After matching, the app is used for scheduling meet-ups geared towards campus exploration.
The app also includes examples and suggestions. For instance, a coffee shop exploration task allows mentors to either select their favorite coffee spot on campus, or choose from suggested locations provided within the app.
•Pairs will be given a list of possible activities to complete on campus, and the mentee may choose from the list provided.
The shared calendar feature allows pairs to view each other's availability and schedule meetings easily.
•A bi-weekly meeting for the first 2 months of the semester is mandatory. Extra communication time of up to an hour is ad hoc.
•After two months, the meetings may be conducted once a month.
•Clear expectations, instructions, and deadlines help mentors stay organized and accountable, ensuring they fulfill their role.
Reflection
Throughout this project, our primary focus was on research to develop the most effective program, rather than on designing the app itself. We aimed to identify the key aspects of a mentoring program that would offer the greatest support for incoming freshmen.
In the future, I would love to...
•Conduct user testing to identify pain points
•Implement check-ins to act as safeguards against absent mentors
•Set up resources to contact higher-ups in the program if situations occur
•Create a clear app flow and homepage, with the ability to navigate to scheduling, tasks, edit profiles
•Implement opportunities for mentors to receive credit for their work, and to motivate their participation.