08 / STUDENT WELLBEING

Connectie

A transition-triage concept helping incoming college students recognize what they need and find appropriate support.

MY SCOPERESEARCH, CONCEPT + EVALUATIONTEAMINCOMING STUDENTS + UNIVERSITY STAKEHOLDERSTIMEFRAME10-WEEK UCD PROJECT

01 / THE PROBLEM

Starting college can surface practical, social, and mental-health challenges at once. Students may know they are struggling before they know what kind of help to ask for—or where to find it.

02 / THE EVIDENCE

The project combined survey work, synthesis, and concept evaluation to understand transition stressors, how students described them, and which forms of support felt approachable.

03 / THE DECISION

Frame the experience as transition triage: begin with the student’s situation and language, then connect that signal to a relevant next step or resource.

04 / THE COLLABORATION

Over ten weeks, the team moved from research through conception and evaluation, using shared synthesis to keep the proposed experience tied to students’ real transition needs.

05 / THE OUTCOME

The work produced a focused service concept and a research-backed model for connecting a broad, emotional problem to practical routes for support.

06 / THE REFLECTION

When someone cannot name the service they need, design should begin with the experience they can describe.

PROJECT EVIDENCE

Connectie transition triage research frame — 01 / The project reframed a broad wellbeing challenge as a transition-triage experience.

Connectie research synthesis spreadsheet — 02 / Research findings were synthesized into themes the team could carry into concepts.

Connectie student transition survey chart — 03 / Survey evidence helped show the mix of concerns present during the transition to college.