April 20, 2023 Meeting of Student-Focused Spaces Task Force

Time and Location of Meeting

April 20, 2023

Agenda Details

Agenda

Student-Focused Spaces Team

April 20th, 2023

Agenda

  1. Announcements and updates
  2. Study Updates
    1. PhotoVoice
    2. Focus Groups
  3. Other

 

 

Minutes Details

Minutes

Student-Focused Spaces Team

April 20th, 2023

Minutes

  1. Announcements and updates
  2. Study Updates
    1. PhotoVoice
      1. The group has started reviewing final discussion meeting with participants.
      2. Participants valued knowing how a space is intended to be used, especially when they go into a new space. It can be hard to know the social “rules” of a space. For example, large tables often go underutilized because students are unsure whether it is OK to sit near other individuals. Experiences of space are sense-based, participants described the feelings of different types of furniture, the aesthetics of spaces (especially when they are unwelcoming), and even scents. Participants identified “transient” spaces where they do not expect to spend a lot of time, such as the low, soft furniture in the Scholarly Commons and spaces in the Union.
  • If you give students a picture and ask for feedback, it helps facilitate conversation. So having the pictures from Fall helped jumpstart conversation and facilitate interaction.   This tactic maybe helpful for future focus groups as well.
  1. The team has started talking about next steps, including recommendations for signage, and how to follow-up on the study. The team is also discussing possibly doing a public exhibit of the participants photos to acknowledge student feedback.
  1. Focus Groups
    1. The focus groups are completed. The team shared a preliminary list of themes, which included a combination of feedback also observed during the Fall focus groups, and some new ideas.
  2. Other
    1. Action items
      1. Both teams will plan to complete write-ups by the May task force meeting, and then spend summer planning next steps.
      2. At the May meeting, the group will develop a dissemination plan for findings, including potentially presenting findings at a Library hangout and/or division meetings.