Developing Infographics for Graduate Students at a Hispanic-Serving Institution
General description of the project
Albizu University – 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.
Technologies
The infographics were created using Canva, a free online platform that allows for easy creation of graphics, so there was no additional cost to the university. The infographics were saved in PDF format and JPG format so they can be displayed on the website as well as saved for later. The use of the university’s recording studio for the corresponding videos aligns with the university-wide initiative and the Title V PPOHA Graduate grant initiative of improving the online learning environment. The equipment used for recording was purchased by Title V allocated funds.
Explain project results
The infographics were uploaded into Blackboard under a folder titled Graduate Student Resources. Students and faculty were informed that these resources were available. Blackboard offers statistic tracking information that can be downloaded into usage reports. Since the infographics were uploaded into Blackboard at the beginning of the fall semester, there have been more than 700 views accounting for 17.74% of the total views of the entire student portal. The only page being more frequently accessed is the welcome page when students log in. In addition, infographics are being distributed during one-on-one tutoring sessions when a student needs help in a specific topic area. This preliminary data demonstrates that students are accessing the information being provided. Focus groups will be held at the beginning of the spring semester (January 2021) to gather detailed feedback about the infographics as resources.
Why it should be considered best practice?
Given that university faculty and staff must make up for lack of family support or knowledge when working with Hispanic graduate students (Flink, 2018), providing access to resources and ongoing academic support are imperative. When learning is only virtual, this becomes even more important. Communication with students should be consistent (Alcantar & Hernandez, 2020) and information should be presented in multiple formats. The addition of contact information with each infographic also allows students to ask follow-up questions and get a more personalized learning experience without the additional stress of a time commitment.
Highlights of your proposed presentation
Discussion of how 15 graduate student infographics were developed including the selection of topics and graphic creation. Strategies for sharing resources with the students and evaluation of the infographics will also be discussed.
The Evaluation Committee will evaluate submitted proposals based on the following criteria. Each area will be rated on a scale from 1 to 7 (1= non-satisfactory; 7 =outstanding), for a maximum of 63 points.