Developing Infographics for Graduate Students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution.
| Albizu University at Miami (AU-Miami) is a primarily Hispanic serving institution. The most recent enrollment data demonstrated that 78.3% (n=483) of the 617 graduate students identified as Hispanic/Latino. Over the past five years, enrollment of Hispanic graduate students at AU-Miami has steadily increased and it is anticipated with the award of the Title V PPOHA Graduate grant, the enrollment will continue to grow. An initial needs assessment was conducted on approximately 50 graduate students (Master’s and Doctoral level) both in person and via an online survey. Results of the needs assessment demonstrated the overwhelming majority of students felt they needed help in developing and writing dissertations, theses, and research papers. Students also reported needing assistance with collecting research and writing for publication. The results of the needs assessment were used to inform the creation of a graduate student workshop series that were held virtually and recorded. However, graduate students often have other responsibilities such as full-time jobs and family obligations that may inhibit their ability to sit and watch a 30-45 minute workshop. In a university-wide survey conducted prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, students noted they were most anxious about balancing graduate school with other responsibilities (i.e. work, family, etc.) and having limited time. To address this problem, a series of one-page infographics were created and made available for download via Blackboard as well as the university website. The goal is to assist those graduate students with time constraints by providing more flexible options to access needed information. Examples of the infographic topics include Parts of a Dissertation: Introduction, Primary versus Secondary Sources, Publishing FAQ, and Professional Writing 101. Each infographic will be accompanied by a 3-5 minute closed-captioned video to accommodate for multiple learning modalities. |