MountCares Thematic Analysis by Brook Batch

Instructions

brookbatch — 2024-02-28 18:55:41 UTC

Hello Everyone, please feel free to suggest themes that emerge as you read through the transcripts.

I suggest that you do an initial read through the transcripts from start to finish before making notes, then try reading through them again and highlight some topics that you think are important.

Click on the "+" button to add a new theme heading/theme item.

These entries can include direct quotes from students and any notes you may have.

When including a quote, please write which student said it (student 1, 2, 3, etc..) so we can make sure that they're quoted properly in the article.

First- Generation Student

2024-03-04 17:40:00 UTC

Resource Accessibility

2024-03-04 17:41:08 UTC

Anything having to do with accessing resources (i.e. people. on-campus resources/support). Highlights things that were helpful and also difficult.

Communication

2024-03-04 17:41:44 UTC

They ways people hear/learned to know about resources or issues with gaining information

Academic Planning

2024-03-04 17:43:50 UTC

Anything about advising, transfer information, registration, and graduation

Unsorted

2024-03-04 17:46:05 UTC

student 1

2024-03-04 17:47:18 UTC

"at one part I wasn't driving so like me getting like hygienic products food product"

student 1

2024-03-04 17:49:07 UTC

"MyMount was a hassle...Just navigating it, yea"

student 1

2024-03-04 17:51:30 UTC

" like finding like departments or like the financial department or finding out like, I don't know, the sports people like who to contact and stuff is really hard"

student 1

2024-03-04 17:52:40 UTC

"That big shift of starting with my college career as first generation not knowing like what to expect, was really hard, which dropped my GPA a lot"

student 1

2024-03-04 17:54:04 UTC

"the lions cupboard the student resource center. Um, the school was very vocal about like the Learning Center and like the library stuff. It's just when it comes to like other resources. I feel like that should be advertised a little bit more"

student 1

2024-03-04 17:55:55 UTC

"Like they kind of just like, oh, we have this, this this this, but then it's kind of like okay, but like, like, what else are like When do they meet? Or just maybe like a spot where all the clubs are listed out with the days that they meet would have been"

student 1

2024-03-04 19:02:13 UTC

" I feel like having it electronically, like its own little like maybe like resident life like this is what you can do on campus and just like a list of things"

(Campus Event advertisement)

student 1

2024-03-04 19:03:46 UTC

"I see the flyers. But then it's like, I didn't even know we had an LGBTQ club until like, they started sending out emails. Or like, even like the well versed, like, the Black Student Union was really they advertised a lot, but then they kind of stopped. I don't even know if they're, like, still like a club"

student 1

2024-03-04 19:04:52 UTC

" I also didn't know how credits work. So when it came to actually like planning my classes I didn't understand half of what I was doing"

student 1

2024-03-04 19:05:49 UTC

"I also didn't know that like, the requirements that there was a like your, your major requirement, but then you also had the school requirements. And I also didn't know that, like the credits like tallied up to like a specific number that you needed that you need to do before you even graduate"

student 1

2024-03-04 19:07:34 UTC

" like the experiential learning or, like, stuff like that. I didn't know. I also didn't know what class is qualified for the core classes"

student 1

2024-03-04 19:09:02 UTC

"if I knew how to navigate my mount at that time, because I know now that that's like your advisor shows up there and as well as like, your course audit"

student 10

2024-03-04 19:12:09 UTC

"If you have a major required course, you need a C and not a D in the course to get the credit"

student 10

2024-03-04 19:13:02 UTC

"Graduating early is an option → you do not have to be on the typical four- year plan"

student 10

2024-03-04 19:13:52 UTC

Wasn't made aware of requirements (needing a C, not a D to receive credit) until after the class ended

student 10

2024-03-04 19:15:17 UTC

Never got pictures from graduation nor degree (does not know who to speak to about either of these)

student 10

2024-03-04 19:16:34 UTC

"Low budgets and attendance in clubs does not help people learn what is on campus"

student 10

2024-03-04 19:17:56 UTC

Make policies on grade requirements more well-known or easier to find/access

Health/ Wellness

2024-03-04 19:54:00 UTC

Mental health, the wellness center, how to handle classes/stress

student 1

2024-03-04 19:59:40 UTC

" I use Sister {redacted name} a lot. Mission ambassadors, I'm a part of the group, but I like to talk to the person in charge of it for Health. Wellness Center"

Professor Relations

2024-03-04 20:12:02 UTC

Discussion about specific professors/office hours/ advisors being teachers

student 9

2024-03-05 14:56:55 UTC

"I was a commuter. And especially freshman year, like, I would just go to class and come straight home because I didn't really make any friends. So I definitely kind of like felt a little lonely."

student 9

2024-03-05 14:58:05 UTC

" I know, they send out the weekly emails, which is helpful, but I feel like, sometimes I wish that like they'd send like a reminder email or something"

student 9

2024-03-05 14:58:50 UTC

"food and free stuff can never go wrong with college students"

Suggestions for campus engagement events

Campus Engagement

2024-03-05 14:59:55 UTC

How people come to know about campus events/participation in clubs and organizations

student 9

2024-03-05 15:00:27 UTC

" So I think promoting their social medias would be good, because I actually know, like, okay, like, I see it on my phone. Like, I want to go to that, like I know, BSU is having an event because I saw it on their Instagram."

student 9

2024-03-05 15:04:57 UTC

"I feel like the professor really helped meet with me during like office hours, I would email him and like, he was really responsive to"

student 9

2024-03-05 15:06:29 UTC

"the professor's genuinely care about you as a person, and like, they want to make sure you're doing good too...they're definitely like there for you, which is something that I think is helpful and something that the mount promotes"

student 9

2024-03-05 15:08:03 UTC

"I've been able to meet honestly a lot more people just because like you wake up and you're like brushing your teeth and like hey girl what's up"

student 9

2024-03-05 15:09:04 UTC

"even within my own programs, like being a double major, I feel like I've tried to like kind of branch out a little bit more because like, I have my core friend group, but like, still trying to talk to other people, and especially being a TA this year"

student 9

2024-03-05 15:09:51 UTC

"there's definitely some courses that I've taken that have felt like a waste of time, and money"

--Maybe need to communicate why certain classes are needed for majors?

student 9

2024-03-05 15:10:41 UTC

"for me, personally has been frustrating at the mount is just, sometimes it feels like it doesn't matter if I do a survey because these professors aren't going to face repercussions"

student 9

2024-03-05 15:11:39 UTC

"There was several times and I wrote this in my survey where I felt like the professor was unprofessional. He was disrespectful explicitly to art education students and made that evident"

student 9

2024-03-05 15:12:36 UTC

"I wish that the mount and the provosts and the dean of our programs would actually change things, instead of being like, Oh, dang, that's unfortunate"

student 9

2024-03-05 15:15:57 UTC

" I feel like my ceramics class, like I that has been worth my money because I'm using all the tools that I'm paying for it. And like I'm actually learning different things. And in that other class, I took just I learned nothing, and it was extremely frustrating."

student 9

2024-03-05 15:18:07 UTC

"I wish I would have taken more opportunities to interact with, like on campus, like organizations or like, even study abroad programs....I don't feel like it's super publicized.....I would have loved to do study abroad or like, even if I could have laid that out with my advisors for a semester like be like, hey, like, is this feasible for me to do like ahead of time"

student 9

2024-03-05 15:19:03 UTC

"the hardest part is just genuinely like with the double major, especially finding a balance between having a life outside of school and being able to handle the workload"

student 9

2024-03-05 15:19:51 UTC

"I have a lot of sacrifices of like, not being able to visit home as much or like, just not being able to, like, feel like I have a second to breathe"

student 9

2024-03-05 15:20:30 UTC

"I've used the Wellness Center. And I really, really enjoy it."

student 9

2024-03-05 18:10:59 UTC

"having someone guide you that like isn't a professor or a friend"

student 9

2024-03-05 18:12:20 UTC

"I used the Learning Center once freshman year. And I actually knew the girl that helped me, which made me feel more comfortable"

student 9

2024-03-05 18:13:30 UTC

" I go the library all the time, like personally, but also, a couple of times, I've talked to librarians.....you can make appointments with them, which is really nice. If you're like, I'm just really stuck, and I need to get this research paper done"

student 9

2024-03-05 18:31:46 UTC

"Like even like just going to like the IT Helpdesk like that's been super helpful"

student 9

2024-03-05 19:52:57 UTC

" I do think kind of like the clubs like what I was saying, like, I do think it can maybe be advertised a little bit better, even if it's just like, a poster. Or like, if it's, I don't know....I wish like we could add stuff to Blackboard because like, everyone's using Blackboard. So even if it's like, right, like announcements, like what they send out each week of like, sporting events and stuff, like I wish we could do that in Blackboard."

student 9

2024-03-05 19:53:50 UTC

" even if it's maybe like, how we have mountSafe reminders, like text reminders"

Suggestion about event advertising

student 9

2024-03-05 20:11:59 UTC

"let's say if it was first semester, freshman year, and I was signing up for spring classes, like they're like, this is like what you need to take, because especially for freshman year, like you have to take some classes within before you reach a certain credit"

student 9

2024-03-05 20:19:57 UTC

"once I got into art education, {redacted name}, my new advisor, and {redacted name} we all meet together, which I think has made it even more helpful, especially switching majors, like, beginning of sophomore year was a little stressful"

student 5

2024-03-06 14:17:26 UTC

"The only resources I have used has been the library and study tables."

student 5

2024-03-06 14:19:20 UTC

Talking about resources:

"I have heard of them but I don't use them. You hear about them a lot from teachers and some people you meet at study tables."

Student 5

2024-03-06 14:22:29 UTC

"Living on campus my first 2 years was hard for me just felt no disconnect from school."

Student 5

2024-03-06 14:23:11 UTC

"I wish I would’ve known about the fraternity sooner other than that I mean most stuff you need to know you get a lot of emails and messages"

student 5

2024-03-06 14:24:25 UTC

"Overall experience has been pretty good light class schedule workload is a little heavy just because of my computer science major"

student 5

2024-03-06 14:26:22 UTC

"I think MSJ should encourage more on campus activities involving the clubs and organizations. I know we have some but there should be more and make them interesting."

Student 2

2024-03-06 14:32:08 UTC

"I would say our advisors being like teachers because we, I mean I have them like them twice in class"

student 2

2024-03-06 14:33:01 UTC

"overall assignment communication and like communicating when stuff is due what's expected and everything like that? I feel like it wasn't that clear in my high school"

student 2

2024-03-06 14:34:36 UTC

"Oh, it was communicated through like discussion boards and on the syllabus or just said in class"

student 2

2024-03-06 14:35:36 UTC

"probably just like where the classrooms are like I know we went on a walkthrough of like what buildings are which but I wish they would go through like what numbers are out much for I guess"

student 2

2024-03-06 14:37:29 UTC

"not really, I feel like everything else got communicated the first day or like our orientation."

student 2

2024-03-06 14:39:56 UTC

"I originally emailed my advisor, my primary advisor and asked about it, and she referred me over to them with like their email on their website"

student 2

2024-03-06 14:40:46 UTC

"I mean, I think it would be beneficial to them but not everybody shows up like super early because people do live on campus, so you shouldn't worry about being like 15 minutes early?"

-- Advice for future students to not worry about timing

student 2

2024-03-06 14:41:58 UTC

yeah, they send emails out, and then it's posted on Facebook, Instagram, their website. But I know it's on some of our mount apps like mount roar

student 2

2024-03-06 14:42:37 UTC

"Probably get out like the class sheet for each individual person? Because like, when you go for your first session of advising, they have one, and then it continues on. I would say just get that out. And like a paper copy for them to have, like orientation or whatever."

student 3

2024-03-06 15:08:01 UTC

"Um, overall, I feel like my college experience has like changed me a lot, and a bunch of good ways, I've definitely come out of my shell a lot more with people and just with everything, I've gotten more comfortable walking around campus, talking to people talking to my professors. It's just been a good experience."

student 4

2024-03-06 15:08:52 UTC

"I've had a good experience overall as well. Kind of like how she said, I've also come out of my shell a lot. I'm enjoying all the classes I've been taking. I've learned, you know, I've been taking classes and stuff like, I never thought I actually like, I, I enjoy them, and I end up learning a lot."

student 3

2024-03-06 15:10:12 UTC

"Um, for me, honestly, it was actually the cite program like having the like classes with the same people almost every day, for a long period of time, I got closer to a lot of people. And that made me realize that I am, like, good at talking to people. And that made me just come out of my own shell with everybody else."

Talking about community/making friends

student 4

2024-03-06 15:12:12 UTC

"I mean, I'm also in the cite program. So you know, having those classes with those people. For me, it hasn't always been the same people. But my situation is a little bit different. Because I'm a transfer student, but I enjoy, like, the flow of most of those classes. "

student 4

2024-03-06 15:12:43 UTC

"And like, a lot of the, a lot of that kind of like, group stuff that [redacted name] does, helps me talk to more people. "

student 4

2024-03-06 15:15:24 UTC

"I'm pretty like, I mean, there was like, a few bumps here and there, with like, knowing what exactly which credits transferred and also like, knowing like, the scholarships are different, like the Merit Scholarship is less for transfer students. Not by much, I mean, scholarships and scholarships, but like, it would have been nice to have, like, known that more early on.... You know, like, there's just a few classes here and there that like, normally someone at my level would be taking here, but I already took it."

student 3

2024-03-06 15:16:54 UTC

"I think something that has been going well is that I actually realized I can handle a lot of the stuff and that I'm getting better at, like, knowing how to program HTML databases. So just like having the confidence that I can actually do this major"

student 4

2024-03-06 15:18:05 UTC

"I appreciate like, all the resources that we have here and how willing professors are to meet with you if you have any issues. Because, you know, like, even on my last school, like that, it's harder to meet with them, but they weren't always so open to it. But everyone here has been really friendly."

student 4

2024-03-06 15:21:11 UTC

"Um, well, near peer hours, which I appreciate and I was going to go to the Learning Center for math. I never did, but I appreciate that it's there and I I'm, I will be going. Next semester on I'd say calculus. We're gonna need that"

student 3

2024-03-06 15:25:56 UTC

"Yes, my personal struggle has been [redacted name] leaving. And because that's really put a lot of pressure on people on the cite program to teach a lot of the classes that he taught before. And I feel that a lot of the classes do seem unorganized and just aren't giving the best education that I could have received."

student 4

2024-03-06 15:29:03 UTC

"Yeah, I can add on to that, I would completely agree. Even though I didn't have [redacted name] I do, like I knew of him. And I feel like I feel the stress of like, you know, everybody in the site and just like, it's also it makes it harder for like them to have the time to answer emails and to have meetings even though they they do always make the time and are more than willing to. It can it gets difficult over time. And I can I like I can see the stress. And I definitely think that there needs to be someone, someone else at [redacted name] level, who can take some of his stress away, because I mean, I'm he like literally comes into class, like, just after like running there."

student 3

2024-03-06 15:31:43 UTC

"Okay, so for me, just from personal experience, like about scheduling, and how important that is to like schedule on time, because I'm gonna be honest, like, the first time I had to schedule for like, my next semester classes, I just I didn't know like that I had to like, how important it was to like, wake up and do it. And like how, like, you might not be able to get into your class and you don't do that. I was not made aware of that."

student 4

2024-03-06 15:33:05 UTC

"So like, you had like, yeah, it was like a race basically, like, and, I mean, I was even on waitlists for a long time for some of my classes. I think, like, for me here, I feel like as a transfer student, it wasn't made super clear at the beginning. I mean, I had to have an extra meeting to have it like, fully, like, laid out and explained to me, but like, the exact classes I have to take in like, which order. "

student 4

2024-03-06 15:34:20 UTC

That was not made clear at the beginning at all. I thought something was wrong with my major that there was something like, I'd have a meeting with [redacted name] and I was like, I feel like I'm not in the right classes. Something's not right. And then she laid it out explained to me better, and like what exact classes I would need to take and when.

student 3

2024-03-06 16:56:32 UTC

"For me, I actually started therapy through the mount. And I did that for, I think, maybe two months, and it helps me a lot. And yeah, just worked on personal stuff, which obviously got, like, Oh, I got a lot better."

student 4

2024-03-06 16:58:40 UTC

"I have also used the Wellness Center. I'm starting to not go as much now because like, um, oh, good. But she just wants to check up on me and stuff. So yeah, it's really helped a lot. I appreciate that It's there. They're like, resources for it."

student 3

2024-03-06 16:59:51 UTC

"I was trying to, I don't know where I've found that there's therapy. I must. I don't know. I'm sorry. for neer peer. It was [redacted name]. She mentioned it in a lot of classes. So that was, yea, i dont know about therapy. "

student 3

2024-03-06 17:00:36 UTC

"Um, honestly, no, I feel like they're really good at promoting the Wellness Center and like, during like mental health awareness month, they're good at like saying like, you know, you can step in or you can go here for help. I think that they're good at promoting that."

student 3

2024-03-06 17:04:34 UTC

i think some advice for me is just like knowing that. Like, during freshman year, like everyone is like, new, I think it's like the best time to like, get into, like, clubs get into like other, like events and stuff, because you can like really, like, people are all like, trying things out and feeling where they're belonging with people. They can really help you, like, get out of your show, immediately.

New Themes

brookbatch — 2024-03-06 18:52:53 UTC

Helpful (Green)

Challenging (Red)

Suggestions (Yellow)

student 4

2024-03-07 18:04:34 UTC

"that survey thing it was that thing I found that helpful just like an in class reminder. I know like can't happen for everybody because not everyone's professors their advisor, but I found that helpful."