Games and Gamification in College Access and Success Spaces: Lessons Learned From the Field

• In Event: Digital College Access and Success Tools: Scholarly and Practitioner Perspectives on What's Working for Generation Z

Abstract

In order to successfully gain access to higher education, students from poor and working-class backgrounds need high quality information about postsecondary options and costs, as well as support for their college aspirations and plans. Otherwise low-income and first generation students, even if they have aspirations to attend college and have been high achievers in school, run the risk of not applying to college. Once accepted to college, students are further challenged to decipher financial aid awards, navigate enrollment and housing paperwork, afford college costs, meet academic expectations, find community, and plan for their career – while also maintaining positive mental and social well being. In many instances, incredible support programs exist at the high school and postsecondary levels to support students. Yet often those programs are limited in scope (i.e. they can only serve a finite number of students due to budget constraints or do not engage students in ways that resonate with their preferences). In other instances, students are simply not afforded access to high quality support for their college aspirations due to limited resources at their school/university. This paper outlines two approaches where games, gamification, texting and social media were used to amplify existing efforts to support students – or in some cases, to supplant guidance when few resources existed.

The rationale behind using games and gamification strategies in the college access/success space is to “meet students where they are” in their digital use and consequently engage them in accessing and achieving success in college in different ways than traditional efforts. The research-practice initiatives described in the paper focus on supporting first generation high school and college students by cultivating college knowledge – the information, skills, and strategies needed to prepare, enroll, and succeed in college (Conley, 2008). The initiatives are designed to: (1) increase non-cognitive skills through games and social media campaigns and (2)incentivize students to take action on lessons learned. The initiatives are implemented across an entire institution (as opposed to being accessed individually) and were developed and evaluated in close collaboration with practitioners and the target audience.

The paper shares findings from both projects. The first project involved a randomized control trial with 62 California high schools, half of whom implemented a digital intervention designed to boost FAFSA and college application rates for students attending Title I high schools. Randomization occurred at the school-level. Final outcome measures included FAFSA completion, college application completion, and college enrollment. The second project consisted of a pilot study that expanded the digital approach into a postsecondary space. Outcome measures included first semester and first year GPA and units completed and number of units enrolled for the subsequent semester (indicator of persistence).

In both studies, analyses of statistical data point to positive impact on various outcome measures. Additional findings from longitudinal qualitative and quantitative data collection document how practitioner and student stakeholders collaborated to design, implement and evaluate the tools. Research also highlights digital equity challenges and opportunities. Back-end, server-level data provide insight into engagement patterns among student and practitioner users.

Authors

• Zoe Corwin, University of Southern California

• Tattiya Maruco, University of Southern California

• Maria Romero Morales, University of Southern California

• Christine Rocha, University of Southern California

• Constanza Astiazaran, University of South Carolina