Crisis Response Research
Project Type: Service Design
The Challenge: The San Francisco Bay Area saw an unprecedented number of crises and upheavals in late 2019 and 2020. From the large wildfires in in November to the Covid-19 Pandemic beginning in March, in addition to the racial justice movement with the murder of George Floyd and the emotional and political upheavals with the national elections, these were difficult times for everyone but especially for community college students trying to stay on track to complete their studies. A local college needed to know what barriers to education their students were experiencing during those trying times and what they could now do to support them.
Research/Insight: Working with Student Services, a survey was developed to measure students’ approval of the college’s responses to the crises, the impacts they experienced, and the barriers to education that were now most prevalent. It was sent to enrolled students as well as students who dropped their college courses after the start of the pandemic.
Action: Based on these findings, the college created programs to address the greatest barriers to entry. They immediately purchased more loaner computers and hot spots to support the technological needs of their students. In addition, they created on-campus pandemic-safe study areas to support students who were experiencing too many
Impact:
My Role: